Torn Between Two
by bryshenners
Summary: Lily has had a seven month happy relationship with Jeremy, but one day trapped in a broom cupboard with James Potter proves to be the start of conflicting feelings. When Lily learns that running away and denying feelings isn't the answer, she's left with only one option: To choose. Who will she end up with? Her caring boyfriend, or the toe-rag she despises but has feelings for.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thanks for reading my new James & Lily story, please take a look at my others and don't forget to review. Please note that this is the first time where an OC takes the central spot, this story will involve a love triangle between Lily, Lily's boyfriend in sixth year and James. So please do not read if you don't like OC pairings, this is the first time I've tried it. **

**I shall also warn you that it may get a bit racier so if you feel the rating needs to go up, please feel free to put so in a review. **

**Well enough of that, please read and review and most importantly enjoy my new take on James's and Lily's relationship beginning. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, I make no money writing these stories. The Harry Potter Franchise belongs to none other than the brilliant J K Rowling. **

* * *

_She was walking through the corridors, she had a free period that afternoon. She was on her way to meet her boyfriend Jeremy Thomas, a sixth year like her but in Hufflepuff. Jeremy had a free period too and so had suggested that the two of them study together in the grounds due to it being a warm day in the middle of April. It was as she was walking into the entrance hall that she heard a loud clang down the corridor and saw a messy black haired boy with glasses running towards her, before she could carry on walking to the doors that led out to the grounds, she was grabbed by the boy and led over to the broom cupboard just off of the entrance hall. _

_Lily huffed and clenched her fists in anger, absolutely furious that James Potter was now going to make her late for her study date with Jeremy. It was as she had predicted when she saw him running towards her; that he had pulled another prank on the caretaker and was hiding from Filch and his cat. James turned to face her, a huge grin sitting on his face like usual._

_"Let me out of here this instant Potter." she growled. _

_"Relax Evans, once the coast is clear you'll be free to go." James replied. _

_"I have places I need to be right now Potter!" _

_"Like snogging Jeremy Thomas? Honestly Evans, I thought you had better taste." James tutted._

_Lily glared at him, pulling her wand out of the pocket of her robes. She pointed it at James, who had also pulled out his own. _

_"Not that it's any of your business Potter but I happen to like Jeremy. He's a nice boy who's mature enough to consider the feelings of others." Lily said, snappily. _

_James mockingly put a hand over his heart and changed his facial expression to mock sadness, causing Lily to roll he eyes as she jabbed her wand into his stomach. _

_"You wound me Evans." _

_"Last chance Potter, let me out or I'll stupefy your arse off!" Lily threatened. _

_James put his own wand back into his pocket and before she could realise what was happening, James had placed his strong hands on her shoulders and spun them around so that she was back against the door and his head was dangerously close to hers. As his mouth swooped down on hers, she dropped her wand to the floor in shock. It was as if her soul was paralysed and her body had a mind of it's own as her arms flung around his neck and her lips moved enthusiastically with James's. Her eyes slid closed quickly as James hands went to her waist. _

_After what had been a few minutes, Lily came to her senses. She shoved James away from her and put her hand to her mouth, feeling instantly guilty that she had just cheated on Jeremy. She bent to the floor to pick her wand up, her heart beating faster than ever before in her chest. Her confused green eyes went to meet James's. _

_"What the hell was that?" Lily demanded. _

_James was breathing heavily and she could tell that he was trying to resist the urge to kiss her again. He didn't answer her, he didn't know what to say to her. Lily began to massage her forehead; trying to make some sort of sense as to what had just happened between them. She detested James Potter the most out of everyone she disliked at school; he was the one who annoyed her the most. Potter was a show off, an attention and thrill seeker. He had a little fan club of girls who would fall at his feet and leave their knickers in his locker in the Quidditch stadium changing rooms after practices and matches. Not that all of his adoring little swooning fans stopped him from continuously asking her out, to each time he asked she always said she'd rather date a troll. _

_She pocketed her wand back inside her robes and looked James in the eye once more, wishing that he would stop looking at her like his life had meaning now after he had kissed her. _

_"I-I have t-to go!" Lily said sharply and quickly exited the broom cupboard. _

_She had no choice but to break things off with Jeremy now, she had returned James's kiss and she didn't understand why she had done so. Jeremy had been her boyfriend for seven months and he was great. He was nice, caring, clever. He had been willing to take their relationship slow because she was new to relationships, she really liked him. But now, James had ruined that for her. She had kissed James back, and although she knew that if Marlene knew about it; her best friend would say it wasn't cheating. But to Lily it was, she hadn't meant for it to happen but she needed to do the right thing. _

_Lily walked across the grounds and saw Jeremy sat under a willow tree waiting for her, he rose and gave her a bright smile and leaned in to kiss her but she stopped him. _

_"Lily what's wrong?" asked Jeremy, a tone of concern about him. _

_"Jeremy, I'm so sorry but I can't continue in this relationship." Lily muttered._

_Jeremy blinked in confusion._

_"Why? What did I do?" Jeremy questioned._

_"It isn't you, it's me. I'm not the person you think I am." Lily whispered, tears beginning to fall down her face. _

_"But-_

_"I'm sorry." Lily said and then she rushed off back to Gryffindor Tower. _

_She believed she had done the right thing, but the weeks that followed didn't make it any easier. Jeremy kept waiting for her at mealtimes, before and after classes and when she walked to the next class. He had told her he could change, he believed that he had done something to cause her to end their relationship. He wouldn't take her word that it wasn't him, it was her. James had noticed that she had ended it with Jeremy and all the toe-rag could do was catch her eye and wink at her or pucker his lips up at her to tease her. It was driving her insane. _

_It was four weeks after her breakup with Jeremy when she was walking down to lunch and James had once again grabbed her unsuspectingly. He had rushed them into the same broom cupboard where they had shared their first kiss. _

_"What?" Lily snapped._

_"You broke it off with Thomas." _

_"What's it to you?" Lily questioned. _

_"You're a free agent now, I'd like to take you out one day." James answered._

_"No chance, you ruined my happiness with Jeremy." Lily growled. _

_She backed into the door when she saw James's eyes aflame with desire and he approached her dangerously. He didn't touch her, merely placed his hands on either side of her face as he stared down into her eyes. He smiled when she gulped nervously, knowing that he had an effect on her now. _

_"It's not like you didn't enjoy it." James muttered._

_"I didn't." Lily lied. _

_James raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" he asked. _

_Lily breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, nodding her head in reply. Wishing that he would back away but no such thing happened. His lips touched hers and once more her arms flung around his neck; pulling him in closer. His hands went to her waist, gripping at her shirt. But after a few minutes, she remembered her feelings for Jeremy and she shoved James away, running from the cupboard and straight back to her dormitory. Once she had reached her bed, she buried her head in her pillow and cried. Now she realised that she felt conflicted, she had feelings for Jeremy and feelings growing for James. The most horrible kind of torture to a seventeen year old girl who had never been in love or had a serious relationship before. _

_She confessed all to Marlene when her best friend had returned to collect her books for the next class. Marlene skived off Divination to comfort her and once her eyes were dry, Marlene suggested a girl's holiday in Paris that summer to which Lily instantly agreed. Marlene, Lily, Alice and Mary were going to spend a month in France's capital and she hoped that once the month was up, she would feel better._

"Lily wake up." a voice said softly.

She awoke and remembered that she had fallen asleep on the balcony that connected to their hotel suite, her copy of Hogwarts: A History on her lap. Lily smiled gratefully as Marlene sat on the sun lounger next to her; placing two glasses of ice cold pumpkin juice on the table in between them.

"Thanks Marley." Lily sighed happily.

Marlene's facial expression showed worry, causing Lily to frown.

"What's wrong Marley?" asked Lily.

"You talk in your sleep Lily. Me and the girls know that you've been dreaming of the kisses you shared with James and how bad you feel about hurting Jeremy." Marlene sighed.

Lily's face fell, she couldn't deny it. The past three weeks she had pretended to be getting better, feeling better. That her feelings for James and Jeremy were fading but it was all a facade. She had blocked all owls from Jeremy, had no contact with her ex whatsoever. But that didn't stop her from thinking or dreaming about the two boys.

"We go home next week and then we'll be back at school in September, maybe going away hasn't helped you as much as we thought it would."

Lily nodded in agreement, the holiday with the girls was great; she had needed some girl time but if anything it made her feel ten time worse. In a month's time she'd be boarding the train to go back for her final year at school and then she'd be face to face with Jeremy Thomas and James Potter. Right now she didn't know what she wanted, but what she did know was that she needed time to figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for your reviews so far, here's the next chapter so please enjoy :)**

* * *

They had arrived back from their holiday all eager to get the shopping for their school supplies. The four girls walked arm in arm down Diagon Alley and headed into Flourish and Blotts for their seventh year predicted, the shop was packed full of Hogwart's students who had had the same idea as Lily, Marlene, Alice and Mary to go school shopping today.

As Lily and Alice stood in the queue to pay for their school books, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. She turned and her smile faded when she saw that it had been Jeremy who had tapped her shoulder. His face fell, having seen her smile fade when she saw him.

"Hi Lily." Jeremy said quietly.

She instantly felt a pang of guilt, clearly he wasn't moving on either.

"Hi Jeremy."

As the queue moved forward, the two of them remained silent. Lily had never felt more awkward in her life than she did right now. Alice was the next customer at the till so she continued to stand in front of Jeremy, wishing that she hadn't bumped into him.

"How was your summer?" asked Jeremy.

"Okay and yours?"

"Rather lousy." Jeremy muttered.

Lily nodded, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Lily, why did we break up?"

The dreaded question but was saved just in time when the sales assistant called her to the till, she handed her books over and paid for them as the sales assistant placed them all in a bag for her. When she took the bag from the assisant, she turned back to Jeremy.

"I have to go, I'll see you around Jeremy." Lily said, with an apologetic tone.

Jeremy nodded, "See you around Lily."

The two girls met Marlene and Mary outside the shop and Lily explained to the other two girls how awkard the situation had been in the shop with Jeremy. Her three best friends sympathised but Marlene just told Lily to tell Jeremy the truth and then to work out who she wanted to be with, if she wanted to be with Jeremy or James at all.

As they continued up along Diagon Alley, Lily's shoelace became untied. Seeing that her friend's had headed in the direction of Madam Malkin's she shouted that she'd catch them up. She bent down to tie her shoelace back up and as she stood back up, she felt a prescence behind her.

"Miss me?" a voice whispered in her ear.

She shivered and her heart raced faster in her chest, she knew that she was going to have to face him at some point; she just didn't want it to be now. Lily turned to face him and she felt like something was different about James Potter, but she couldnt' quite put her finger on what it was.

"Not really." Lily mumbled.

James took ahold of her arm and led her down a secluded alley between two of the shops. She backed against the wall with James's arms on either side of her head. _This is dangerous. _Lily thought to herself.

"I missed you."

"Why? You haven't forgotten that I hate you, have you?" Lily sneered.

James chuckled and moved his head closer, she couldn't believe that this was happening.

"You don't hate me Evans. I think you're conflicted."

"Conflicted?"

James nodded, "Since I last kissed you, you ran off crying. Then the minute school ends, you rush off to Paris to avoid seeing me or Jeremy this summer. Now you're stood here with me, I can hear your heart beating fast in your chest, I can feel your heavy breathing. You're nervous to be alone with me because you don't know what's going to happen, but you want it to happen." he whispered.

Lily said nothing but stood in shock as she realised that James was completley right, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of him knowing her inside out like he claimed to do.

She gulped, "I have to catch up with the girls." she said, trying to change the subject.

James moved closer to her neck and inhaled the perfume she wore, making himself light headed and making Lily feel slightly giddy.

"Just remember Lily Evans, I have feelings for you. I want you to consider going out with me, I did some changing over the summer. Ask Remus, he'll vouch for me. You can deny it all you like but we both know that it's only a matter of time before you realise that what you've been looking for has been right at the end of your nose for the past five years." James whispered.

With that, he kissed her cheek and headed off back into the crowded cobbled street. She followed as soon as she was able to calm herself down, wishing that James didn't have that effect on her. Wishing that she could change the past and be in the happy relationship that she had once had with Jeremy. As she made her way back up the cobbled main street, she silently decided that when she was back at school, she and Remus needed to have a little chat.


	3. Chapter 3

As she entered the prefect's compartment she stopped in horror. Lily had been made Head Girl for her final year of education, her hard work had finally paid off. She stood before the Head Boy and rubbed her eyes, wishing that it was a dream. But when he walked towards her and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear proved that she was in fact, in reality.

"How the hell did you get made Head Boy?" Lily demanded.

James smiled and handed her a piece of parchment, Lily took in and her eyebrows skidded up when she saw the grades that James had achieved overall for the past year. He handed her a second piece of parchment which recorded the amount of detentions that he had had during fifth year and sixth year and she was surprised to see that the amount in sixth year was significantly less than his fifth year.

"So, have you spoken to Remus yet?" asked James.

Lily nodded, "Out of all your three best friends, his is the only word that I would trust." she replied.

"And?"

* * *

_"James has told me that he's changed, he said you'd vouch for him." _

_Remus smiled a little as they both sat crossed legged on the grass, watching the water flow down the river that ran along the back of Remus's garden. She had been wirting letters to Remus Lupin since her encounter with James in Diagon Alley and he had invited her over to discuss it in person. _

_"I'm not just telling you because he's my best friend. His grades are up, he's had less detentions and we've actually run into Snape more times than I could count while you were away with the girls and not once did he hex Snape." said Remus._

_Lily nodded, if it had been Sirius or Peter telling her this she wouldn't have believed them. She had always known Remus to be a rather honest person, so she trusted his judgement since James had said that Remus would vouch for him. _

_"And James knows that I'm here?" she questioned._

_Remus nodded, "He said that you wouldn't believe him if he ever told you he's trying to change, so I offered to vouch for him." he replied._

_After a few more minutes of silence, Remus cleared his throat. _

_"Can I offer some advice?" asked Remus. _

_"I'd be glad to have someone else's advice for a change." she smiled._

_"Get to know James, there's more to him than messy hair, Quidditch and pulling pranks that earn him detention." said Remus. _

_She nodded once more, deep in thought as she continued to watch the water flow downstream. The James Potter that she knew was a show off, Remus knew James better than she did; knew a different side to him. It was time that she got to know the other side to him too. _

* * *

"Lily?"

She blinked as she came back into focus, looking into his hazel eyes and beginning to feel her loathing for him fade away slowly.

"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked.

"I asked if you had spoken to Remus?" James repeated.

"I did." Lily confirmed.

"And?" James asked.

Lily took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, she was beginning to hope that she wasn't making a mistake.

"I want to get to know the you that he knows, there's more to you than detention and hexing." Lily replied.

James grinned from ear to ear.

"What would you like to know?"

"How about you write me an essay about your family, your likes and dislikes? That could be a start." Lily suggested.

James groaned, "You sound like McGonagall when you mention essays." he complained.

Lily smiled, "I thought you were the type who liked a challenge."

"Okay I'll write you one, but only if I get one in return." said James.

Lily held out her hand and he instantly took it, they both shook hands to seal the deal.

"Gives you something to do on the journey to Hogwarts." she grinned and then left the compartment to do the patrol of the train.

As she walked through the narrow corridor and past many students, she bumped into the one person that she was hoping to avoid until tomorrow. Jeremy was walking towards her. Due to the many students that were going up and down the corridor, there was no way for her to avoid him.

"Hi Lily, well done on Head Girl." Jeremy congratulated.

"Thanks." she mumbled.

She was a little startled when he hugged her, she wrapped her arms around his neck; it felt quite nice to hug him again. It brought back memories of their time together and she knew that it was only a matter of time before Jeremy brought up the subject of why she had broken up with him. She pulled away and looked into his blue eyes, seeing that he was still hurting.

"Apparently seventh years have the freedom to go out to the village every weekend now." Jeremy mused.

"Really? I had no idea."

"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd like to go for a coffee on Saturday?" asked Jeremy.

She hadn't been expecting him to ask her out for a coffee but she thought it'd be nice to go with him, she had realised that running away to Paris hadn't been the answer and she couldn't avoid James or Jeremy whilst they were at school.

"Sure, pick me up in the entrance hall at eleven." Lily replied with a small smile.

Jeremy returned her smile before heading back to his compartment. She carried on walking and then saw her three best friends sat in one of the compartments, she opened the door and slid inside; taking a seat next to Marlene.

"So who's the head boy this year?" asked Mary.

Lily smiled and blushed a little without realisng.

"James Potter." she answered.

The three girls stared at her as if she were mental.

"Honestly?"

Lily nodded and helped herself to one of Marlene's chocolate frogs. She told the girls about Jeremy asking her out for a coffee to which she had accepted, all three had mixed opinions. Marlene thought she shouldn't go as it was too soon, that Lily needed to be single for a little while longer before making her choice. But Alice said that avoiding the two boys wouldn't solve anything, that if she spent time with the two boys individually; she could work out which one she had the stronger feelings for and go from there. Lily said that she was going as friends with Jeremy, that she had no interest in starting a romantic relationship with either James or Jeremy just yet, she was going to tell Jeremy the truth if the subject of their breakup came up during the get together. The four girls went silent when James entered the compartment and handed over a sealed letter to Lily before leaving. She opened the letter to read it, smiling the whole way through.

_Dear Lily,_

_Well here goes: My full name is James Charlus Potter. I am an only child born to Charlus and Dorea Potter, my dad worked at the Ministry before retiring before I started Hogwarts. My mother was a homemaker who raised me. I was born in March and couldn't wish for better parents. __I first met Remus, Peter and Sirius on the Hogwart's Express on our first day of school, we've been inseparable ever since. All three are like the brothers I never had, Sirius moved in with me during the summer due to a fallout with his family._

_I love Quidditch which you already know, my favourite team is Appleby Arrows who wear blue robes with a silver arrow. Despite what you may believe, when I'm not with the boys I love to read. Not just magical writings, I have come to favour the works of Shakespeare and Jane Austen(yes you can laugh if you like) and I also read some muggle magazines which Sirius leaves laying around my place._

_My favourite meal is sausage and mash. My favourite colour is green. My lucky number is seven. I love the Autumn and I love Christmas. My favourite subjects at school are Transfiguration and Degence Against the Dark Arts. _

_I don't like intense summer heat although I can take the heat if it's under twenty degrees. I don't like brussel sprouts or cabbage, I don't like the Wimbourne Wasps and I consider the number thirteen to be evil. I also hate the smell of Sirius's smelly socks and have to cast a charm to stop the smell from spreading if he leaves them laying around. My worst subject is Potions. _

_My NEWT classes are Charms, Potions, DADA, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. When I leave school, I'd like to consider a career as an Auror. _

_My mother also taught me to play the piano when I was growing up, although don't tell Sirius because he'll take the mick. _

_The best kiss of my life was with you. The only girl that I've ever cared about is you. You are all I think about. _

_If you'd like to know anything else, then leave a PS on your reply. _

_Love _

_James__._

Lily folded the letter back up and placed it in the inside pocket of her school robes, she was looking foward to getting to know James a bit better. Hoping that she could soon refer to him as a friend, the best part of the letter in her opinion was his confession about her. She still felt conflicted but just reading James's letter made the butterflies in her stomach flutter madly away.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: so here's the next chapter, thanks for all the reviews so far and enjoy :) **

* * *

After the feast, Lily and James met with Professor McGonagall who went over their Head duties in more detail. They were responsible for organising the prefect patrol schedule as well as their own patrols,setting a good example to the school by sorting out any trouble that might occur and helping to organise trips to the village as well as some feasts. They walked out of McGonagall's office and made their way back to Gryffindor tower.

"So, did you read the letter?" asked James.

Lily smiled as they waited for the staircase to change.

"I did, I found it rather nice." she answered.

"So do I get one back?"

Lily went into the pocket of her robes and handed him her reply to his letter, it was only the start to get to know him a bit better and now that she and James would be patrolling the corridors at night together, they'd cetainly have more opportunities to do so. She handed the letter to James, watching his eyes light up behind his glasses as he took it from her.

"Do you really read Jane Austen?" asked Lily.

He nodded, "My mum reads them and one week in the summer after fifth year I got sick. Mum wouldn't let me go out so she gave me one to read, at first I thought it was too girly but I got quite into it. Tease me if you like."

Lily smiled, "What's your favourite Austen novel?" she asked.

"Sense and Sensibility." James replied.

"Good to know." she said quietly.

"So a little bird told me that you're going out with Jeremy on Saturday?" James said.

They walked up the staircase and she instantly felt like she was doing something wrong, the way she saw her meeting up with Jeremy it wasn't a date. She was single, she wasn't with anyone. She knew that she still had feelings for her ex-boyfriend; after all they had been together for seven months. But since her second kiss with James, she couldn't stop thinking about the Potter boy. She had never been in this situation before and she believed that she was doing the right thing in remaining single until she stopped feeling confused. She didn't see that there was anything wrong with being friends with both Jeremy and James for the time being.

"I'm not back together with him." Lily stated.

"Good to know." James mumbled.

Lily sighed and stopped walking, turning round to face him.

"I just want to be friends with him."

"And does he know about us?" asked James.

"There is no us-

"I mean does he know what happened between us?"

Lily shook her head, "He's asked me why we broke up and he doesn't know. But if he asks me about it I've decided to tell him the truth." she answered.

James nodded, "And what truth are you going to tell him?"

"That we kissed twice and that I felt confused." said Lily.

The two carried on walking towards the common room.

"Lily, do you have feelings for me?"

When she didn't answer straight away, James grasped her upper arm and pulled her into a hidden passageway behind on the many tapestries in the school.

"What do you want from me?" Lily snapped.

"I want you to answer my question." James growled.

"Okay. Fine. You want me to tell you that ever since you kissed me that I can't stop thinking about you? That it caused me to break up my happy relationship when I realised that the dislike I had for you was starting to fade? That everytime I see you I get butterflies in my stomach? Well it's all bloody true James Potter. Remus convinced me to get to know you better, I hoped we could be friends. When I'm on my own I sometimes feel normal, with no boy to worry about and then I see you and I want to be in your arms again. And then I see Jeremy and instantly feel guilty for what happened between us. So yes James, I have feelings for you and I have them for Jeremy too. For now I want to be friends with the both of you, I want to stop feeling guilty and be honest with everyone and I don't want anybody to get hurt. I don't know what to do, I've never been in this predicament before."

There were a few minutes of silence between them as James considered her words. Lily had never felt more horrible about herself, she didn't want to lead two guys on. She didn't want to have feelings for two boys, she considered it to be quite whoreish; even if she hadn't slept with either of them. She knew that she would soon have to make a choice.

"I can understand why you still have feelings for Jeremy and I don't hold that against you." James muttered.

"I don't want you or him to get hurt but you both deserve to know the truth about my feelings." said Lily.

He nodded and stepped away from her, leading them both out into the corridor to carry on towards the common room. She hadn't wanted to snap at him but now that he knew that she had feelings for both boys she felt slightly better and she was going to tell Jeremy when she saw him on Saturday. They stopped outside the portrait hole, only for Lily to get frustrated because the Fat Lady wasn't in her frame.

"What are we going to do?" Lily groaned.

James sat on the floor and opened the letter that Lily had given him earlier.

"You aren't going to read it now?"

He nodded and started to read it.

_Dear James,_

_My full name is Lily Marie Evans, I was born in Janaury to John and Rose Potter and I have one sister named Petunia. My father died in a car accident shortly after I finished my second year at Hogwarts and he was a brave man, he had battled with a disease called cancer, which some people die from, in his late twenties, he worked as a Doctor which is the muggle equivilent to a healer in St Mungo's and when I graduate from Hogwart's I'd like to become a healer because I'd like to help people the way my father helped to save many lives. _

_My sister is a muggle and works as a secretary, she's currently engaged to a muggle named Vernon who I haven't met yet. But from the letters I receive from Petunia, she thinks the world of him and can't wait to get married. I do consider myself to have gained extra sisters in Marlene, Alice and Mary as we met on the first day of term and have remained good friends since. _

_My NEWT's classes are Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. _

_My favourite colour is blue, I don't really know much about Quidditch. I haven't read much books from wizarding authors outside the textbooks that we are supoposed to buy for school but one of my favourite muggle stories from childhood is Cinderella, I'll have to tell you it sometime as I feel you might be a bit unfamiliar with muggle stories. I do enjoy books written by muggle author Charles Dickens, my favourite being A Christmas Carol which is about a man named Ebenezor Scrooge who is selfish and only thinks of himself who on Christmas eve is visited by the ghost of his former business partner who tells him that he will be visited by the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas future. The three ghosts help Scrooge reflect on the things that have happened in his life where everyone dislikes him and in the future he will die alone unless he changes his ways. I recommend that you read it sometime, I re-read every now and then. _

_If you need to know anything else, then feel free to ask. _

_-Evans._

He didn't know how much time had passed but Lily was sitting next to him. James folded the letter and placed it on the inside of his robes before turning to meet Lily's gaze, he felt surprised that she was beginning to open up to him, it felt great that she wanted to try having a friendship with him; even if he wanted more.

"So?"

"I liked it but this is just the start." James replied.

Lily smiled and nodded her head, "So we'll try this friendship thing?" she asked.

"Yes but one day we'll have more." James promised.

Lily smirked, "So sure aren't you Potter?"

He nodded and cupped her face and brought her forehead to bump against his.

"Now I know that you have feelings for me, I won't stop fighting for you." he promised.

She rolled her eyes, causing James to smile widely.

"What makes you think that there will be a fight, I don't want there to be a fight for me; I'm not worth that." Lily replied.

"Oh Lily," James breathed. "If only you knew how amazing you really are. When you tell Jeremy the truth, he'll be fighting to win your heart just as much as I will."

He leaned in and closed his eyes, wanting his lips to move against hers but she placed a finger over his lips and moved backwards.

"Don't." she pleaded.

"Why not?"

She gulped, "Because this is bad enough without you kissing me, if you kiss me then I won't be able to stop."

James moved her hand away and looked deeply into her eyes, seeing how bad she felt about herself. He'd do anything to stop her from feeling that way, she would never intentionally hurt anybody and that was one thing he loved about her.

"Soon you won't be telling me not to kiss you because we both know that you want me to and although I can control myself now, one day I won't be able too because that's all I want to do for the rest of my life." he whispered.

Lily exhaled deeply and stood on her feet, noticing that the Fat Lady had returned to her portrait. She said the password and the portrait swung open, she and James entered the empty common room. Before going up the spiral staircase that led to her bed, she turned to James and bade him goodnight; wishing more than anything that she could just stop feeling confused.

* * *

On Saturday, she met Jeremy in the entrance hall and the two signed out to go to Hogsmeade. She felt slightly nervous about how she was going to tell him about James because she knew that the subject of their breakup would come up. Jeremy tried wrapping his arm around her like he used to when they were dating and she moved away, not wanting to get his hopes up that they could reconcile. They entered Madam Puddifoots and Jeremy ordered them two cappucinos whilst she went to get them a table.

When Jeremy joined her, she thanked him for the cappucino and took a sip. The conversation started off quite awkwardly, with Jeremy asking how her summer was and how she was finding it back at school now they were in their seventh year. She answered willingly and truthfully before asking him what he had been upto, feeling guilty when he said he didn't do much because he had been pining over her for the whole summer.

As she finished the last of her cappucino, the dreaded question had finally come.

"Lily, why did we break up?" asked Jeremy.

She placed the empty mug back on the little table they sat behind, hoping that her facial expression was apologetic.

"Believe me when I say it wasn't you, it was me." she replied.

Jeremy frowned, "What do you mean?"

She sighed heavily before meeting his pleading gaze, she began to explain the story about the day she had been pulled into the broom cupboard by James Potter and how he had kissed her and how she had responded positively to it. She explained her reasons for ending their relationship and how she had kissed James again after they had broken up and how she now felt confused because she had feelings for him and for James Potter. But she found herself surprised when Jeremy didn't have an angry outburst.

"Lily it isn't your fault." Jeremy assured her.

"I feel so guilty though." she muttered.

"I understand and I won't deny that I want us back together. I think we should hang out, see what happens and if we get back together then great. If not well I'll be sad but I just want you to be happy." said Jeremy warmly.

She looked at him once more, thinking how much of a great guy he was.

"You're too nice to me, you know that right?"

"Lily, I love you."

She felt herself freeze in her chair, he had never told her that he loved her before and now here he was confessing it to her. She had never been in love, she didn't even know what it felt like. Deciding that she needed to be on her own, she rose from her seat.

"Thanks for the cappucino Jeremy, I'll see you around yeah?" Lily said quickly before departing.

"Lily!"

But she didn't respond to Jeremy's call of her name, she rushed back to the castle and decided to sit by the lake for a while to gather her thoughts. She knew that the possibility of being friends with James and Jeremy was going to be a lot tougher than she originally thought.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the weekend had gone rather quickly, she had been avoiding Jeremy since he had confessed that he loved her on Saturday morning. She kept to the library mostly on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, only because she knew that if Jeremy followed her in there then they couldn't have a serious conversation about it due to Madam Pince's watchful eye.

It was on Sunday afternoon when she was strolling around the grounds trying to gather her thoughts, she knew that she needed to make her choice soon as they would be taking their NEWT examinations after the Easter holidays and although it was a long way away, the one thing she had come to learn during her time at Hogwarts was that time flew by in the blink of an eye.

She stopped when she saw James heading towards her, broomstick over his shoulder and still dressed in his Quidditch uniform; clearly he had just finished a team practice.

"Hey Evans, how was your weekend?" asked James.

"Could've been better, yours?"

"Just finished practice, we had to share the pitch with the Slytherins and Sirius decided to hit a bludger at the Slytherin keeper and now he has detention." James replied.

Lily rolled her eyes, looking up at the sky as she watched some birds fly across it. James watched her in amazement at how she could find little things so fascinating.

"Have you ever seen the bird's eye view of the castle?"

Lily shook her head, "I'm not a keen flyer and I'm scared of heights." she replied.

James grinned and mounted his broom, levitating a few inches off the ground and gesturing for her to climb on behind him. Lily's eyes widened in shock as she realised what James was going to do.

"Are you crazy? What if I fall off?" Lily shrieked.

"Live a little Evans." said James, taking her hand.

She rolled her eyes and climbed on, deciding that it was time to overcome her fears. She wrapped her arms around James's stomach and gripped tightly onto his shirt as James flew fast in the air and they went higher and higher; the wind hitting her harshly in the face the faster they flew. They eventually slowed down so that they could both see the castle from a bird's eye view. It took her breath away, seeing the castle in the middle of the day as the sun shone brightly in between the clouds.

After a few minutes, James headed towards the top of the Astronomy tower for them to land. She felt a bit safer now that she was back on her feet but she had to admit to herself that going flying with James had been quite a thrill.

"Thank you for that." Lily breathed.

"Looks likes you needed it."

"Rough weekend." Lily replied quietly.

"What happened?" asked James as he settled his broom against the wall.

Lily went to the stone wall banister and looked out over the grounds, tensing slightly as she felt James wrap his arms around her and rest his head on her shoulder.

"Jeremy told me he loved me yesterday." Lily sighed.

She felt James nod against her shoulder and his breath on her neck made her feel tingly, wishing that she could make time stop and just stay there with James; not worrying about Jeremy.

"That was the last thing you needed, he certainly knows what he's doing." James whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"He told you he loved you because he's trying to sway you to him. He wants you to forget about me."

"It doesn't sound like him."

"When it comes to you Lily, boys can act out of character."

She turned in his arms, breathing fast when she realised how close his lips were.

"I can't forget about you." she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

She had tried over the summer to forget both the boys but had failed, now she couldn't be without James in her life. She knew that it had only been a few days but the feelings she felt for James were slowly getting stronger. The way that he had shown her the bird's eye view of Hogwarts had been enough to momentarily forget her troubles.

James brushed a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her left ear, gazing deeply into her eyes. She stared back into the warmth of his hazel eyes, forgetting what she had told him during the week. She wanted so desperately to kiss him, to feel his lips enthusiatically move against hers with his hands gripping her to him tightly. The feeling of his tongue battling her own which made her forget where they were or what the sensible thing to do was.

Lily closed her eyes for a second and felt her nose bump against James's, she could feel his breath hot against her mouth as his hands went to her waist. She should run. She should shove him away and tell him that this was wrong, that this wasn't what friendship was supposed to be about. But before she could decide to act on whether she should listen to her mind and run away or listen to her heart and kiss him, James had pulled away from her.

Her eyes opened fast and flashed him the questioning look as to why he had to be the one to pull away. He merely smiled and kissed her cheek to assure her that everything was fine.

"You said it wouldn't help you so I'm going to respect your wishes." said James.

"That has to be a first."

"If you decide to be with me then I want it to be because I didn't mess your mind up. I want it to be because you decide it's right for you, I'll wait for you Lily. I've waited for years so I can wait a little longer, I'm quite patient."

He moved away from her and held out his hand, she smiled and instantly took it. They walked over to the door that led down into the castle and James picked up his broom before leading them back into the castle. They walked in silence, letting go of the other when they reached the bottom of the Astronomy tower and in the direction of the common room.

James gave the fat lady the password and the two of them climbed through the portrait hole but before Lily could head up for her room, James grasped her wrist gently.

"Lily, would you ever sneak out after curfew?"

She shook her head, "You should know be by now."

"What if I could guarantee that you couldn't get caught?" asked James.

She raised an eyebrow, "I might consider it if there was a one hundred percent guarantee that I wouldn't." Lily replied.

James grinned at her, "So if I were to ask you in a few days to come with me somewhere, would you?"

Lily hesistated momentarily and considered her options, he had promised her that they wouldn't get caught but if they did she would lose everything that she had worked her backside off for for the last six years of her education.

"Are you asking me out?"

He put on an innocent smile.

"I'm just asking you to come somewhere with me, we are friends right?"

Lily rolled her eyes but returned his smile.

"Alright Potter, if you can guarantee that I won't lose everything then yes I will."

James kissed her cheek and headed off up the staircase to the boy's dormitory leaving Lily feeling excited as to what he had planned for the two of them.


	6. Chapter 6

"Lily, I'm sorry if my confession made you uncomfortable." Jeremy said, apologetically.

They had just finished their potions class and were heading to the Great Hall for lunch. Slughorn had partnered her up with Jeremy for the triple lesson of Potions and had been slightly awkward; since Slughorn had said there was to be no conversation except for the work they were doing they hadn't had a chance to talk until now.

"It's fine, it was just a shock that's all." Lily replied.

They entered the Great Hall and Jeremy took it upon himself to sit with her at the Gryffindor table and the two of them helped themselves to sandwiches.

"It's nice to spend some time with you though, it seems that you spend all your time with Potter." said Jeremy.

Lily's smile faded as she poured herself a goblet of orange juice.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that-

"I can't help it Jeremy, we're in the same house. We're Head boy and girl this year. We're friends." said Lily.

"Lily, I understand. I'm sorry."

They ate their lunch and changed the subject to their studies, to which Lily suggested that they get together on Saturday to study in the library to which Jeremy was rather pleased about. After lunch, Lily had a free period and returned to the common room to get started on her Charms homework as well as October's prefect patrol schedule.

When she walked through the portrait hole and slumped down onto one of the chairs in front of the fire when she noticed Marlene come over to sit next to her. Lily eyed her best friend curiously.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Lily.

"Sirius Black. He asked me out to Hogsmeade on Saturday to which I agreed and he tells me over lunch that he's going with that slut Georgia Huntley." Marlene grumbled.

"Georgia Huntley?"

"Yeah she's on the Ravenclaw team and she's a fifth year. She knows of Sirius's reputation as a womaniser and couldn't wait to offer herself on a plate to him."

"Bit desperate isn't she?"

"When it comes to James Potter and Sirius Black, girls who don't have any dignity would do anything." said Marlene.

"James isn't like that."

"He likes the attention Lily, I'm not saying he's as stupid as Sirius is." Marlene snapped.

Lily pulled out several pieces of parchment and started working on the essay, while Marlene continued to mope next to her. She didn't know what to say to her best friend, she wasn't exactly one to give someone advice about a boy problem when she had one herself which she didn't know how to sort out. She knew that Marlene had had a soft spot for Sirius since their fifth year but it was only now that it seemed to be going somewhere, only for Marlene to get hurt in the process. She managed to convince Marlene to do homework instead of moping around to which Marlene agreed.

When the bell rang, Lily's free period was over. She gathered her things and bade Marlene goodbye and headed for Ancient Runes to which she knew a certain boy that her best friend had a thing for took as a subject. Lily entered the classroom and saw that Sirius was actually on time for a change and pulling things out of his schoolbag. She took the empty seat next to him and he turned to her, his smile fading in surprise that it wasn't Remus.

"Evans, I was expecting Remus." he said.

Lily pulled out her textbook and placed it on the desk in front of them, smiling slightly.

"We need to have a little chat." Lily stated.

Sirius frowned, "About what?"

"About you ditching my best friend at the last minute because you got a 'better offer'." Lily hissed.

"It wasn't like that-

"No? Because Marlene's pretty pissed off that you cancelled for Georgia Huntley."

"Marlene's too good for me, I'm scared I'll mess it up."

"Well she was happy to give you a chance Black and now you've already messed it up."

But before Sirius could say anything else to Lily, the a substitute teacher entered the classroom and instructed them to read twenty pages of the textbook and to translate the pages into English on their parchment. Lily and Sirius worked in silence, until Sirius passed Lily a note which made Lily smile.

_Get Marlene to meet me in the entrance hall before dinner, I want to make it up to her. _

Lily met his stare and nodded, causing him to grin widely. It made Lily curious when she thought of how he was going to make it up to Marlene. The rest of the lesson dragged by and Lily, who usually found her Ancient Runes classes rather interesting, was feeling rather bored after translating the whole twenty pages into English. The subsitute then told her to help Sirius, who was rather glad to have Lily helping him.

When the bell rang to indicate the end of the lesson, Lily and Sirius packed up their belongings and headed down the corridor back to the common room. Lily dumped her schoolbag on her bed and saw Marlene sitting crossed legged on hers doing some homework assignments.

"Marley?"

The blonde looked up and smiled.

"What's up Lily?"

"Sirius wants to talk to you in the entrance hall before dinner." said Lily.

Marlene's smile faded and she turned her attention back to the homework.

"What does he want?" Marlene asked, snappily.

"He wants to make it up to you." Lily replied.

"He's going to have to do a lot of grovelling-

"Just go!" Lily urged.

Marlene rolled her eyes and got off her bed and walked arm in arm with Lily down to the entrance hall, giving Lily a parting hug before heading over to where Sirius was stood. Lily smiled when Sirius led Marlene off to talk in private and she headed into the Great Hall. She sat at the Gryffindor table and helped herself to roast potatoes and roast beef when she noticed that James and Remus had joined her.

"We couldnt leave a beauty such as yourself on her own." James complimented.

Lily's eyes twinkled as she smiled at the two boys before tucking into her food. The three of them chatted away about their days and when the boys began to ask the other where Sirius was, Lily told them that he was alone with Marlene. After the three of them had eaten, they returned to the common room for the night.

* * *

After several minutes of snogging in a broom cupboard in the dungeons, Marlene pulled away from Sirius to catch her breath. Sirius was grinning from ear to ear, evidently pleased that he and Marlene seemed to be going somewhere. He walked closer to Marlene, backing her against the door but before they could resume their snogging session, they heard two people in the corridor outside.

"Jeremy, we need to talk about this!"

"What's there to talk about Georgia?" Jeremy growled.

"We slept together last February and I fell pregnant. I went to St Mungo's and had it dealt with. We slept together again in August and I'm pregnant again!" Georgia cried.

"Well that just goes to show that your contraception isn't working."

"And clearly the condom broke twice! Don't you care?"

Marlene looked at Sirius with wide eyes and Sirius confirmed that the girl was none other than Georgia Huntley.

"Look the first time happened because I was sexually frustrated as Lily wouldn't sleep with me. The second time was a distraction from the pain of my breakup with her." Jeremy explained.

"So you used me? And what about the baby?" asked Georgia.

"Well until we figure what to do, how about we go and take our minds off it." Jeremy said in a raspy whisper.

"What about Lily?"

"I'll get her back, Potter won't win her over. But for now I'm enjoying the fun we have together."

Marlene and Sirius continued to remain quiet as they heard Georgia giggle seductively and they listened as Jeremy and Georgia walked down the corridor and heard a door slam in the distance.

"We need to tell Lily." said Marlene.

"How are we going to tell her that her ex-boyfriend cheated on her whilst they were together and got another girl pregnant and when they broke up he slept with the same girl and got the same girl knocked up again?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know but she thinks Jeremy is a nice guy, she needs to know his true colours."

"I can't believe he got her knocked up twice at fifteen and she's only just turned sixteen, she's still a kid herself." said Sirius.

They both left the broom cupboard and headed to the Great Hall for dinner, both trying to think of a way to tell Lily without hurting her feelings about what Jeremy was really like.


	7. Chapter 7

As October came to the castle, it seemed that Lily and Jeremy were growing closer again. James constantly saw the two of them walking in the grounds together or studying in the library on Saturday afternoons. Although it made him a little jealous, he wasn't going to whine about it to her; he wanted her to see that he wasn't going to constantly bug her about making a choice. Luckily he didn't have to see it all the time, the first match of the season was coming up where Gryffindor would play against Ravenclaw and he wanted to make sure that his team were in top shape.

It was the night before the match when James sat in shock as Sirius told him what he had heard between Georgia and Jeremy, and he honestly couldn't believe it. He was sat on the edge of his bed as Marlene and Sirius stared at him in confusion, they couldn't understand why he hadn't reacted to it yet. After a few minutes of processing it, he turned to Marlene.

"And you haven't told Lily yet?" he asked.

Marlene shook her head, "This would destroy her. We all thought he was a nice guy and he showed her so much respect when she told him that she wasn't ready for anything physical. If she finds out, she'll lose all trust in boys." she replied.

"But she needs to know, if she found out we all knew when the truth eventually comes out she'll never speak to us again." said James.

"We don't even know if Georgia's keeping the baby."

"She's only a kid herself, she's already two months in and it won't be long before she shows." Sirius stated.

"I'm telling Lily tomorrow." James vowed.

"Listen Potter you need to think about who you're doing it for. Are you doing it for Lily's sake or are you doing it for yours?" asked Marlene.

James frowned, "Why would I do it for my sake?" he asked.

"It's hardly a secret that you have feelings for Lily and now you know she returns those feelings. Are you telling Lily because she deserves the truth or are you doing it because you're hoping she'll swear off Jeremy and decide to give it a go with you?"

"She's got a point Prongs." said Sirius.

"I'm telling her because she needs to know what Jeremy is really like, if she loses all trust in boys then that's the price I'll have to pay. I don't want to have any secrets from her." said James.

Marlene nodded thoughtfully and left the dormitory, leaving Sirius staring at him.

"What Padfoot?"

Sirius smiled, "You're in love with her aren't you?"

James stood up too quickly and began to pace the room but this only caused Sirius to smirk.

"Love is a strong word."

"You haven't exactly denied it."

James exhaled heavily before facing Sirius again.

"I've never felt this way before, she's the most amazing girl I've ever met. She's not just stunningly beautiful and the best kiss of my life, she's clever, she's caring. She's like forbidden fruit, too good for me. But now that I know what I've been missing, I can't look at another; no-one compares to Lily Evans."

"So why don't you tell her?" asked Sirius.

"Because Jeremy told her that a few weeks ago and she freaked out." James replied.

"And you're scared that she'll freak out again?"

James nodded and grabbed the cloak out of his trunk, deciding to head for the kitchens for a late night snack.

* * *

The next morning Lily woke up feeling rather happy, the day before she had been studying with Jeremy and they had gotten to reminiscing about old time but she still had to make it clear to Jeremy that they were only friends. Although it felt nice to reconnect with Jeremy, she had come to a place where she realised that her feelings for him were fading. She still cared about her ex-boyfriend but only in the way of a friend.

As she lay in bed for a few minutes longer, she thought of James. In a few hours he would be playing in his first Quidditch match of the school year against Ravenclaw, and it had only been recently that she had begun to notice how good he looked in his Quidditch robes. Then she thought that because it was Saturday, she could ask him out for a coffee after the match; just the two of them.

She rolled out of bed and headed down to breakfast with Alice and Mary who had been sitting in the common room, as suspected there was an excitement in the air; a pre-match buzz. They sat at the Gryffindor table and wished the team players good luck in the match, Lily caught James's eye and smiled widely. This moment had also been noticed by Marlene, who had come down to breakfast with Sirius.

"There's something different about you Lily."

"What do you mean Marls?"

"I mean you've spent months moping after two boys and this morning you seem to have made your choice." said Marlene.

Lily smiled, "I'm going to ask James out for a coffee after the match."

Marlene returned her smile and eventually the team left to go and change before the match, Lily finished her breakfast and hurried out of the hall not long after James and the team had left. She waited outside the changing rooms and watched as James was the last player to exit. He looked at her in surprise but led her back into the changing rooms so they could talk privately.

"What's up Lily?"

She bit her lip nervously, this only caused him to give her a small smile.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade after the match?"

James nodded, "I'd like that, there is something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah there's something that I need to talk to you about." Lily said.

After a moment of awkward silence, James asked her: "Is that everything?"

Lily shook her head and moved closer to him, closing her eyes she quickly kissed him on the lips. James dropped his broomsticks and pulled her into his arms before backing her up against one of the pillars and kissing her heatedly. Her tongue darted into his mouth and battled his for dominance as James wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet so that she was at his height level. Lily's hands ran through his messy black hair and gripped him lightly as she held him to her; hoping that he wasn't going to break the kiss before she was ready for it to end.

There was a loud cough that caused them to break apart and James glared as he saw his best friend standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face. Lily flushed scarlet as James put her back down on her feet, Sirius continued to grin as Lily whispered that she'd meet him in the changing room after the match and left the room.

"Good luck."

"Don't worry Lilypad, I think you've given James enough good luck to win the match!" Sirius called after her.

James picked up his broom and punched Sirius hard on the shoulder and the two exited the changing rooms and headed onto the pitch. As Lily made her way towards the stands, she was stopped by Jeremy.

"I see you've made your choice." Jeremy mumbled.

"I'm sorry, but I've realised that my feelings for you are nothing more than friendship." Lily apologised.

Jeremy nodded and gave her a brief hug.

"I understand and I'm happy for you but as your friend I need to tell you something."

"What's that?" Lily asked.

Jeremy sighed heavily, "I'm telling you this because I don't want you to get hurt if you find out later, James Potter is about to be a father."

Lily frowned, "I don't understand-

"He slept with Georgia Huntley in the summer holidays and got her pregnant and she's keeping the baby."

And it was in that second that Lily felt her heart break into a million pieces, it had only been a few minutes ago that she had shared a passionate kiss with James and had decided to give it a go with him. But now all that had changed.

"I don't believe it."

Jeremy gently grasped her shoulders and looked down at her with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

"Would I lie to you?"

She looked him in the eye for a few seconds before shaking her head, Jeremy wrapped an apologetic arm around her shoulder and led her off to the stadium to watch the match together.

* * *

Gryffindor were beating Ravenclaw by fifty points and the match was only twenty minutes in. James continued to pass the quaffle back and forth to Sirius and the other Gryffindor chaser Keira Hunt, swerving to avoid the Ravenclaw chasers as they tried to steal the quaffle. Once Sirius had thrown the quaffle through the Ravenclaw posts, the crowd cheered wildly. They were now winning by sixty points and James couldn't even hear the commentary being made in the teachers stand all those feet below.

He saw Alice speed up on her broom, she must have seen the snitch and was now head to head with Georgia Huntley, a few inches above the grass. It all happened so quickly, James wasn't sure what happened. Georgia Huntley fell to ground and Alice stretched out her arm and caught the snitch. The Gryffindor crowd went wild as they all landed on the grass and Georgia was rushed to the hospital wing.

"Nice one Alice." James congratulated.

Alice smiled as the team all hugged each other and James saw Lily walking over to them. He bade the other's goodbye and walked over to her, but the smile was wiped off his face as Lily's hand connected with his cheek and left a stinging mark.

"Ouch! Lily what the hell?!" James yelled.

"That is for making me think that you could change." Lily cried.

"Lily-

"How could you not tell me that you got Georgia pregnant?"

"What? I'm not the father!"

"Typical response Potter, you actually give into your little fans and sleep with one of them and then refuse to face up to the responsibility." Lily hissed.

She stormed off the pitch and James stared after her, shouting her name to which only made her walk faster towards the castle. Giving up he saw Jeremy stood in front of him wearing a smug look that even Severus Snape couldn't pull off. James grabbed hold of Jeremy by the shirt as his anger overcame him.

"What the hell did you tell her?" James demanded.

Jeremy chuckled darkly and shoved James away.

"You think I'm going to give up on Lily that easily? The thing is Potter is that she believes me because I'm the nice guy that she dated for seven months whereas she'll always see you as the toe-rag she despised until you messed her head up. Now she hates you again, I'm going to be there to comfort her and win her back."

James clenched his fists, "If you think I'm giving up then you're mistaken." James growled.

Jeremy grinned sickly, "May the best man win Potter." and then headed off to the castle.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you all like this chapter, don't worry Jeremy will get caught out soon enough ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

It had been two weeks since Lily had slapped him and she hadn't spoken to him since unless the subjects were about classes or patrols. This was the angriest that he had ever felt in his life and although he could hardly deny that he was desired by the opposite sex, he only wanted to be with one girl in a physical way; the one girl who was now refusing to have anything to do with him. And the thing was that Jeremy didn't know that he, Marlene and Sirius knew about how Jeremy had cheated on Lily while they were together and had caused Georgia to fall pregnant and have the baby aborted. Luckily for him, he had patrols with Lily on every Tuesday and Thursday night and he loved every second of it. One reason being because she couldn't avoid him and the second because he liked being alone with her. He was determined to get her to listen to him even if it took kissing her senseless to get her to.

On Tuesday night, he and Lily were patrolling the corridors with their wands dimly lit. He kept catching her eye but the minute he caught her looking at him, she'd look away again. They turned a corner and he cleared his throat.

"What?" she hissed.

"I'm not the father." James replied.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You'd say just about anything wouldn't you?" she whispered.

"So I'm a liar?"

"Yes."

"But-

"I don't care Potter-

"Lily you can trust me, my feelings for you are real." James insisted.

"How can I trust you? That little revealation, it broke the trust I had in you. How am I supposed to believe that your feelings were real?" she challenged.

James stopped in his tracks before grabbing hold of her and covering her mouth with his own, surprisingly she didn't pull away. She moaned into his mouth as he backed them into a hidden alcove and placed heated kisses along her jaw and down her neck; unbuttoning the first few buttons of her shirt to access the sensitive skin better. He lifted her off her feet as she tugged on his hair to bring his lips back to hers, locking her legs around his waist. His blood boiled, her heart raced faster in her chest as they continued to kiss each other, her anger turning into a passion that met his. She could feel the urge coming to rip his shirt off, to run her fingers across the bare chest; to see if his body was as muscular as she had dreamed it was.

He pulled away but remained a millimetre away from her lips, their breaths were ragged and they looked each other in the eye as they tried to get their breathing back to a normal pace.

"Was that a lie, Lily?" he whispered huskily.

She couldn't answer him, she didn't know what to say.

"If you must know, I've been with no-one. There's only one girl I could ever want in that way and that's you."

"But-

"Merlin you're sexy when you're angry." he chuckled quietly.

"James-

He set her back on her feet and as he stepped away, he had to fight really hard to stop himself from pressing her back up against the wall and kissing her like that again; that kiss by far had to be the best one that they had shared to date. Her hair was ruffled and he could see the skin on her neck was red from where it had come into contact with his lips; silently begging him to do so again. But now was not the time or the place, even if she did look irresistable.

"I'll find the proof that you need if you can't take my word for it." James vowed.

Lily nodded silently and hurried past him, he decided to give her a few minutes head start before resuming patrol.

* * *

Wednesday morning came quicker than James would have liked, he had returned to the common room after patrol to see that Sirius was waiting up for him. They had discussed ways in which they could get Lily to hear from someone else but couldn't think of anyone. If Marlene had told her the truth about Georgia and Jeremy, Lily would be skeptical as Marlene was now dating Sirius. Lily trusted Marlene more than she trusted most people but even though Marlene was Lily's best friend, she would assume that James had asked Sirius to ask Marlene to make up some story.

They had soon decided to try and ask Georgia for her help, after all from what Sirius and Marlene had overheard the fifth year girl wasn't pleased at the fact that Jeremy had used her to fulfill his needs. Sirius offered to try and talk to her as he knew Georgia a bit better. James agreed, knowing that Sirius would try anything before giving up.

The first three periods they had been unable to try and reach Georgia between classes and James was rather irritated to see that as they queued outside for triple Potions that Jeremy had put his arm around Lily and pulled her close to whisper something in her ear, causing James to consider throwing a punch at the Hufflepuff boy. How Jermey Thomas didn't get to be a Slytherin, he didn't know. For it was common knowledge that Jeremy was a muggleborn but his sly nature and ambition would have been qualities that Slytherin would have admired.

As they walked to lunch, James had never felt more miserable. Lily was refusing to meet his gaze and she had gone to sit with Jeremy at the Hufflepuff table. With many of the Hufflepuff seventh year girls cooing and making comments like 'Aww I hope they are back together." or "They always were meant for each other." which caused James to leave his bacon sandwich half eaten and return to the common room.

Sirius saw his opportunity after he had finished his lunch that day. He exited the Great Hall and saw Georgia stood in the entrance hall with her friends, he checked his watched and smiled to himself when he saw that he still had fifteen minutes of lunch break left. He strode casually over to Georgia and tapped her shoulder, grinning widely as she turned to face him.

"Sirius, what can I do for you?" asked Georgia, brightly.

"Can I talk to you privately?"

"Sure."

He led Georgia over to the nearest broom cupboard and once inside he locked the door and soundproofed it, making it clear to Georgia that he didn't want to be overheard.

"Sirius, you made it clear that you were with Marlene McKinnon now." said Georgia.

"I'm not here about that."

"Then what do you want-

"I know about your dirty little secret."

Georgia raised her eyebrows, "What secret?"

"That you're keeping Jeremy Thomas's baby and that you slept with him when he was dating Lily, slept with him during the summer holidays and when we returned to school." Sirius answered.

Georgia's face turned to shock and she began to shake in panic. Sirius gently guided her to the floor and gestured for her to take deep breaths. Since her collapse on the pitch, the teachers had sworn to keep her secret and protect her at all costs. When she started to show, she would be privately taught by a substitute professor and given potions to keep calm as her workload for her OWLs wouldn't stress her out when she was due to give birth in May.

"How-

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that Jeremy doesn't care about you or the baby." said Sirius, harshly.

"He's promised to get a well paid job at the Ministry to take care of us. My parents and Jeremy will take responsibility for the baby so I can continue my education. He's promised to support me."

"I'm sure he told you that to keep you quiet. All he cares about it getting Lily back, he's even told her that James Potter is the father of your child to stop her from pursuing a relationship with him."

Georgia froze and shook her head manically, she couldn't belive what she had been told. She knew that Jeremy didn't want a romantic relationship with her and she was fine by that. But when it came to the child she was carrying she expected him to take responsibility for it, after all the baby was half his.

"Did he really?"

Sirius nodded, "I wouldn't lie about something this serious."

"What do I do?" she pleaded, for the first time it looked like she realised how big of a situation she had gotten herself into.

"You can tell Lily the truth."

"But Jeremy is clever, he'll work out what I'm planning to do."

"So you continue to act like you believe his little promises he makes to you. I'll make sure that James traps Lily so she has no choice but to go to the bathroom on the third floor on Friday. You'll get there before her and come out of a cubicle and make it look like you've just thrown up or something, start going on about how great it's going to be with Jeremy and make sure you slip his name out." said Sirius.

Georgia bit her lip, still not convinced whether it would be a good idea.

"If I do Jeremy will kill me, he won't support our baby."

"There are steps you can take to ensure that he does. Legally he has an obligation to provide for your child and the Ministry can ensure that he pays a monthly amount to you to help with the baby's upbringing."

She considered it for a few moments longer before nodding her head in agreement.

"You'll do it?" asked Sirius.

"To save a potential relationship and to ensure that Jeremy gets what he deserves."


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on Lily, time to get up." said Alice, in a strict tone which didn't suit her.

Lily groaned as Alice pulled off the thin sheet that had been wrapped around her, but still she refused to move. Every part of her body ached and her head was throbbing. Alice put her hand to Lily's head and gasped in shock, Lily was burning up.

"Lils you want us to take you to the hospital wing?" asked Marlene.

Lily nodded, for the first time in her life she felt too sick to sit through her classes.

"I hardly slept last night." Lily yawned.

"Sounds like you've got flu." Mary observed as Lily started shivering and pulled the sheet back around her again.

"Get my homework for me."

Marlene rolled her eyes as Alice and Mary packed up some clothes for Lily and took her down to the hospital wing. Marlene gathered her school things and met Sirius in the common room.

"What's wrong with Evans?" Sirius asked.

The two climbed through the portrait hole and stood outside as they waited for James and Peter.

"Flu." Marlene replied.

"So the plans off?"

Marlene nodded, "Just until Lily gets better."

"How long will that take?" asked Sirius.

"About a week."

Sirius groaned as James and Peter joined them and the four walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, sharing the news of Lily being ill with James who was rather disappointed at the news. James ate his breakfast in silence and Sirius said that he would talk to Georgia before they all went to class. Once the bell rang, the students exited the hall in a hurry and James saw Sirius gesture for Georgia to follow him. He hurried up the marble staircase, knowing that Sirius would fill him in later.

* * *

"What do you mean the plans off?" Georgia whispered as she and Sirius walked through the corridors.

"The plans off, just for a little while." Sirius replied quietly.

"Just let me know when." said Georgia.

With that she left Sirius and headed for her History of Magic class, feeling thankful that her morning sickness hadn't kicked in yet and wasn't looking at the contents of her stomach when she felt someone grasp her arm and pull her into a secret passageway behind a tapestry. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was Jeremy.

"What did Black want with you?" Jeremy questioned.

Georgia threw Jeremy off of her and straightened her robes, ever since she had agreed to help Sirius expose Jeremy's true colours she felt that Jeremy had no right to dictate how things were going to be.

"I asked him to help me study for History of Magic, he got a good OWL grade when he took the subject and he agreed. He was just asking when was good for me." Georgia lied, hoping that it was enough to convince Jeremy.

He stared at her suspiciously before nodding his satisfaction, he placed his hand on her belly and caused her to flinch; this was the first time that he had shown any interest in her growing stomach that showed the life that she and Jermey had created.

"How's the baby?" asked Jeremy.

"Fine."

"You look tired."

"My body is adjusting to extra hormones." said Georgia.

"Do you have an appointment yet?" asked Jeremy.

"First of November at three in the afternoon. They'll check the baby's growing and check it's heartbeat. Are you coming with me?" asked Georgia.

"If I can slip away unnoticed. Lily kind of needs me right now."

Georgia nodded, "I get it, Lily comes first. I know important she is to you."

Jeremy smiled and took his hand off Georgia's belly and stepped back a few steps.

"I have interviews for internships at the Ministry in the Christmas holidays."

"Good to know."

"Georgia, my career is important to me as well as getting my relationship with Lily back on track. In order to provide for our child, I need to get my foot in the door so you could at least act like it's important to you too." Jeremy sneered.

She put on her best apologetic look and felt a little guilty. It was rare moments like this that had her convinced that Jeremy actually cared about her and the baby, that he was going to try his best to help them both. She felt like she had some kind of attachment to Jeremy, she couldn't deny that she had little feelings for him and she was fine in not pursuing a relationship with the father of her unborn child.

"I'm sorry, it's just the pregnancy. Sometimes I wake up in a bad mood."

"It'll be worth it in the end, when our child is born you'll be back to normal."

"Will you tell Lily?"

Jeremy blinked.

"About what?" he asked.

"About the baby." Georgia answered.

Jeremy didn't answer her question, he merely shook his head and left her standing in the passageway. She could feel fresh tears falling down her cheeks as she realised that what Sirius had told her a few days ago became truer and truer with each day that passed. How could Jeremy continue to lie to her? How could he lie to Lily? As she wiped her tears away and headed for the classroom, she was even more determined to make sure that Lily found out the truth about Jeremy Thomas.

* * *

At lunchtime, Lily woke to see that Jeremy was sitting at the end of her bed holding a bunch of flowers. She sat up and smiled as she watched him place the flowers in the empty vase on her bedside table. He then sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.

"How's the sicky?" he teased.

"I feel like death."

Jeremy smiled and stroked the back of her hand.

"You'll be fine." Jeremy insisted.

Lily closed her eyes and nodded, smiling as Jeremy stroked her hair; loving how soothing it was. She felt reassured that things would gradually get better for her, and she didn't just feel that about the flu. Feeling grateful that she had a friend in Jeremy to help her through the heartbreak.

Little did they know that James was standing outside the door to the hospital wing, looking in on them through the window. He felt crushed. Watching as Lily responded to the way that Jeremy stroked her hair and gently kissed her knuckles felt like he was being tortured. His blood boiled in anger and his fists clenched as he stormed away from the hospital wing and returned to the dormitory, conjuring a punching bag and attaching it to the ceiling with his wand. He punched it repeatedly, as hard as he could; hoping that Lily would soon find out the truth.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So I hope you like this chapter, if you feel it's a bit racy and that the rating needs to go up then please leave it in a review and I will change it straight away. But I hope you like it :) **

* * *

A week later, Lily left the hospital wing feeling like she had never had the flu. She walked into Transfiguration and froze when she saw that the only seat available was one next to James. She silently sat in the empty seat and pulled out her books, ignoring the fact that James was looking at her quizzically. She began following the instructions that McGonagall had written on the blackboard when James slid a folded piece of parchment across to her.

_You feeling better?_

Lily dipped her quill in her ink bottle before writing her reply.

_Yes much better, what's it to you Potter?_

_I've missed you, this Head stuff is boring without my beautiful Head Girl. _

Lily rolled her eyes, it was just like him to write something like that.

_Just get on with you work Potter and stop distracting me._

_I'm distracting you am I? I could be doing a lot worse to distract you. _

_I'd like to see you try. _

Lily met James's eye and instantly regretted writing her last message to him. His hazel eyes showed that mischievous glimmer and as she turned her attention back to her work, she felt his hand rest on her knee lightly. He scribbled away on the parchment as his fingers traced an invisible pattern on her knee; sending tingles down Lily's spine. She knew that she should shove him away but for some reason she didn't want to.

_So try and get through this lesson thinking about the last time that I kissed you and how you wrapped your legs around my waist as I backed you up against the wall. Think about how your heart raced as I kissed your silky neck because I know that if we had been doing that for a little longer than we would have been looking to skip doing patrol and go somewhere more private than a hidden alcove. You're beautiful, clever and the only girl who I want to become one with. Every time that I've kissed you it's made me feel even more alive than the last time, you make my blood boil in a passion which I never knew could be a part of me. _

As she read the note, she could see James giving her a small smile out of the corner of her eye as his fingers began to drum gently against her knee and slowly pushed her skirt back a centimetre to rub against her thigh. She bit her lip as she tried to carry on writing but the slow and gentle sensation of James's fingers were proving hard as it brought back memories of how passionately he kissed her, how gentle he was.

When he moved his hand away and continued with his work, Lily felt herself frown in disappointment. She could still feel the tingling sensation that his touch that still lingered on her. She pressed her quill onto her parchment and kept catching James's amused gaze. This was proving to be rather difficult to concentrate, just the way he was smirking at her and the way his eyes twinkled with mischief were proving to be difficult.

She was glad when the bell rang for lunch, she quickly packed up her belongings and went to hand in her homework assignments which Marlene, Alice and Mary had been collecting for her. Once her homework was handed in, she left the classroom only to see James leaning against the wall casually waiting for her. Lily carried on walking in the direction of the Great Hall only to be marched in the direction of the broom cupboard where she had shared her first kiss with James.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lily shrieked.

"Still don't believe me?" James asked.

"What, about Georgia?"

James nodded, "I'm not the baby's father and I know you still feel something for me."

"The only thing I feel for you is loathing."

She knew the situation was becoming dangerous, for James was edging closer to her with the same smirk on his face that he had worn during Transfiguration. Her heart raced faster as his lips covered her own and kissed her with a slow teasing pace that made her feel even more frustrated with him. Her arms circled his neck and her tongue pushed into his mouth as he lifted her off her feet. Lily groaned as she felt her back press hard against the door and her legs wrapped around his waist, James hands went to her shirt buttons so that he could access her neck better.

His hands went to her waist then went to gripping at her hips as he placed light kisses on the sensitive skin at her neck. Lily closed her eyes and moaned softly as he nibbled on her earlobe. Her breathing came heavier as she felt James's hands travel up her thighs and she heard him groan into her ear.

"Oh Evans, stockings!"

"James." she breathed heavily.

He continued to kiss her neck as she ran her fingers through his hair, forgetting everything that had happened lately. In this moment, she just wanted to find a way to freeze time and continue this thing with James; it was the most thrilling thing she had ever experienced. Although she hurt, she had never experienced fireworks when she had kissed someone. The minute that his lips met hers, it was like an exciting jolt of electricity that only made her feel the need for more. Lily felt the urge to hit him when he finally came to a stop, she wanted to hit him for making her want more. She had come to the conclusion that she could never tire of James Potter kissing her.

"I'll see you later." Lily mumbled and made a quick exit out of the broom cupboard.

She wasn't hungry, her mind wasn't on food right now. Walking as fast as could and not stopping for anyone, she made her way to the girl's bathroom on the third floor. Lily turned on the cold tap and chuck some water over her face before redoing the buttons up that James had unfastened. She felt hot, she usually did after an encounter with James Potter; but this felt completlely different that she didn't know how to describe it.

There was someone throwing up in one of the stalls and she knocked on the cubicle door.

"Everything okay?" Lily asked.

The toilet flushed and the girl sniffed before opening the door and exiting the cubicle, Lily's face fell when she saw it was Georgia Huntley who had emerged.

"I'm fine." Georgia sniffed.

Lily watched as Georgia washed her face with some cold water before drying herself with some tissue. Lily couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, even if she did sort of resent her.

"Morning sickness?" Lily questioned.

Georgia nodded, "I take it the whole school knows about my situation?"

Lily shrugged, she honestly didn't know how many people knew about Georgia's pregnancy.

"Well I can't complain really, I've gotten myself into this mess. My parents will help out once the baby has been born but I'm pretty much on my own in this." Georgia sighed.

Lily blinked, "What about the father, isn't he helping you?" she asked.

Georgia shook her head, "He keeps promising to get a job at the Ministry and help my parents look after the baby but he's more interested in getting his ex-girlfriend back."

Lily frowned, James didn't have an ex-girlfriend.

"His ex-

Georgia nodded, "I feel so guilty which doesn't help the morning sickness. I was just a naive kid who had feelings for him when he cheated on her in February. He got me pregnant the first time and made me have an abortion."

Lily's heart stopped, surely James wasn't the type to make a person abort their own baby?

"And then we slept together again in August when I was shopping for school supplies and then I found out I was expecting again, I couldn't do it again." said Georgia, and Lily noticed the guilt, the hurt and the confusion as Georgia told her story.

Lily wasn't even sure why Georgia was sharing the sordid details with her but she didn't stop Georgia. She was the Head Girl after all and it was her duty to be there for the younger students so she guessed that Georgia just needed someone to talk to.

"He made me forget about it temporarily when we returned to school, my feelings just grew a bit stronger and then Sirius Black told me that his motives were all towards getting back the girl he really cared about." Georgia whispered as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Why would Sirius Black tell you his best friend's motives?"

Georgia turned to face Lily, having been looking at her through the mirror the entire time.

"You mean James Potter? I don't understand." Georgia stated.

"Isn't Potter your baby's father?"

Georgia looked absolutely mortified.

"Hell no. My baby's father is a vindictive. He saw how close you were getting to James Potter and told you the sordid little lies to stop you two from becoming an item. He's twisted and clever, he doesn't care about me or the baby, he only wants to get you back." Georgia cried.

Lily's heart was racing in her chest, surely Georgia wasn't referring to who she thought she was?

"Who's the father of your baby, Georgia?"

Georgia sobbed uncontrollably for a few minutes and it wasn't until Lily gave her some tissue that Georgia said in a harsh whisper:

"The baby's father is Jeremy Thomas."


	11. Chapter 11

Lily stood in the bathroom stunned. She was still trying to process the news that Jeremy was the father of Georgia's unborn child. She felt angry, not with Georgia for she could see the guilt and hurt that the fifth year girl felt. She felt betrayed and hurt that Jeremy could lie to her like that, when they had first got together he was such a gentleman, always offering to carry her books and opening doors for her. He always paid for their drinks in the village, he always listened when she had a problem that she needed to talk about. He always held her when she was upset. Now to be told that he had cheated on her during their relationship and forced Georgia to abort the baby, he seemed like a completely different person.

She kept having flashes of their time together, sat by the lake messing around with a camera. Holding hands in Madam Puddifoots. The way he used to kiss her cheek that made her feel cute. There was never the slight hint that he had cheated on her, he had always been the same as he usually was. He had never acted weirdly to make her think that something was wrong.

Georgia was crying silently, tears streaming down her face. Lily's eyes met Georgia's brown ones and she knew that Georgia was telling the truth.

"Jeremy?"

Georgia nodded and wiped the tears away.

"I'm so sorry."

Lily left the bathroom in a hurry, she didn't know how to process this news. She found herself marching towards the Great Hall and seeing Jeremy sat alone at the Hufflepuff table. She went over and sat opposite her ex-boyfriend, hoping that he could see how hurt she was.

"Lily, is everything alright?" asked Jeremy.

She shook her head, "Can we talk privately?"

Jeremy nodded and the two rose from the table, Jeremy saw that James was watching them closely and he wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulder whilst grinning smugly. Lily walked faster out of the Great Hall and out into the grounds, stopping to sit on an empty bench where no students were around. Jeremy sat next to her, holding her hand with a look of concern on his face. As Lily looked into his blue eyes, all she could remember was the way he always gave her a reassuring smile. How could he possibly be the horrible person that Georgia had described? How could Jeremy possibly have lied to her about James being the father and how could he have cheated on her and not feel remorse? She had only kissed James and had ended their relationship, she felt awful for that. Now it turned out that Jeremy was the worse one out of the two of them?

"What's wrong Lily?"

Lily's expression changed to pure anger.

"I know the truth Jeremy."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, "Truth about what?"

Lily scoffed, she couldn't believe that he was going to continue his lies.

"About everything, I know you cheated on me in February and forced Georgia to have an abortion. I know you slept with her in August and got her pregnant again and slept with her once she told you of the news. I know that you don't care about her and lied when you told me that James Potter was the father of the child."

Jeremy's face fell.

"Lily, it's true that I slept with Georgia and made her have an abortion because she was a forth year and I in my sixth; we were both coming to a stressful point in our lives so it was for the best." Jeremy sighed.

"And now?"

"Potter is the father."

Lily's hand connected sharply with Jeremy's cheek, leaving a blood red mark on his face. She had never felt this angry before.

"Georgia told me the whole story, how could you let her go through this alone? How could you lie about James?" Lily demanded.

"It's not as if Potter's perfect, I mean he must have been in a situation like mine once with one of his adoring little fans? You're better than those girls Lily, why do you think I lied? I wanted to protect you from the hurt he would cause you, I love you. I want us to get back together and I don't blame you for the confusion you feel. I want to marry you when we leave school."

Lily could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, she was devastated. The boy she thought she knew was a complete fantasy, the boy who she had had come to care for deeply was gone. In his place sat a boy who could cheat and lie to get what he wanted and not care about the consequences. In his place sat a boy who could get a sixteen year old girl pregnant and not care about what the mother of his unborn child was going through. She didn't blame Georgia in the slightest. Georgia was just a girl who had been naive enough to think that Jeremy could care for them both, could help her raise the child. But in actuality, Georgia was alone in this pregnancy.

"Even if I were stupid enough to take you back, what about Georgia and the baby?" asked Lily.

Jeremy blinked, "She was just a distraction, I have no intention of committing to her when all I want is you and a life together with just us two." he answered.

Lily shook her head in disbelief as she stood on her feet.

"I never want to speak to you again, you aren't the person I thought you were. You say that Potter's bad, when in reality you're worse. You got a sixteen year old girl pregnant and won't step up and do the right thing by her. Georgia and that baby are better off without you." Lily hissed.

As she turned to walk away, she felt Jeremy grasp her arm and spin her around. Before she could shove him away, she felt his lips press to hers and kiss her. She pulled away from him and stepped back, disgusted that he was trying to win her round.

"I love you Lily." Jeremy said, desperately.

"Even if I believed that, do you honestly think it would be enough for me? I told you that I cared for you as a friend so I didn't lead you into false hope of us getting back together. Yet you didn't accept my decision, you lied because you couldn't stand me trying to be happy with someone else. That isn't love Jeremy, that's jealousy and obsession." Lily replied.

"What do I do then?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know but the one thing you can be sure of is that you have no future with me and I doubt you have a future as a father now that Georgia has realised that you don't care about her or the baby. Sort your life out Jeremy and do the right thing, be there for your child because if Georgia does give you a chance to be a father then that child is going to need you."

"But-

"Have a good life Jeremy."

She turned and walked back into the castle, ignoring Jeremy's calls of her name. She felt the tears stream down her face as she carried on walking back to the common room, she wasn't in the mood to go to lessons. It had been an emotional day for her. Her encounter with James had left her experiencing emotions that she had never experienced before, like fireworks behind each touch of their lips moving together. The need and desire for more from James. When Georgia told her about Jeremy, the only time she had felt such devastation was the morning she and Petunia were told that their father had died.

Lily had trusted Jeremy with her life, she had had deep feelings for him when they had been dating. Now she felt that she couldn't trust someone to not break her heart. It wasn't the fact that she and Jeremy hadn't dated for months, the way she saw it Jeremy could date someone else and she'd be fine with it. It was the fact that she had placed a lot of trust in Jeremy and after the hurt she had felt when she thought James was the baby's father, Jeremy had been there for her and it had felt nice to have someone there that she trusted. Now she had found out that she had been cheated on by the one she had trusted the most. She felt a sense of betrayal.

Once she had said the password and climbed through the portrait hole, she was glad to discover that the common room was empty. She sat in front of the fire and picked up a copy of Witch Weekly that had been left laying on the table. She was halfway through reading the magazine when she saw James walk into the common room. He stared at her, his hazel eyes showing concern through his glasses. She gave him a weak smile before setting the magazine back down on the table.

"Lily Evans skipping a lesson? Has someone kidnapped her and is posing as her via polyjuice potion?" James joked.

"I'm sorry."

James sat next to her and took her hand, gently placing her red hair over her back.

"What happened?"

Lily sighed as she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder, automatically leaning her head on his strong shoulder as he stroked her hair affectionately.

"Jeremy told me the truth after Georgia's confession to me. He cheated on me when we were together and about Georgia, he has no intention of supporting that girl through her pregnancy or through raising the child when it's born." Lily sniffed.

"I'm sorry Lily, you deserve better."

"I thought he was different, he had me so easily convinced when he lied about you being the father and for that I'm sorry."

"It's fine Lily, I just wish that he hadn't of done that because when we were going to go to Hogsmede after the match, I was going to tell you." said James quietly.

She looked up at him quizzically.

"You knew?" she whispered, almost mortified.

James nodded, "Sirius and Marlene told me, they overheard Georgia and Jeremy talking about it. Sirius spoke to Georgia and then the girl realised that Jeremy only cared about getting you back. I tried to explain but you didn't believe me and I thought that if Marlene told you that you'd think I was getting Sirius to get his girlfriend to do me a favour or something. Sirius thought it best that it came from Georgia." he explained.

Lily nodded slowly, she wasn't angry that James, Sirius and Marlene hadn't told her. It made sense the way that James had explained it, she probably wouldn't have believed them if she had been told that way. But still the knowing that she had trusted Jeremy for nothing, that hurt her the most alongside what her ex was putting Georgia through. She should be angry, that's what Mary would tell her and she was, with Jeremy. When she thought of Georgia, all she felt was pity. Mary would tell her that Georgia deserved to have her eyes scratched out for sleeping with Jeremy when he had a girlfriend, but she didn't care. Georgia had revealed Jeremy's true colours, in a way she felt thankful that Georgia had done so; for if she had chosen to get back with Jeremy then the lies would still continue and Jeremy would probably continue to cheat.

The tears fell again and she lifted her head off James's shoulder to reach into her pocket for a tissue. She hid her face from James, she didn't want him to see her like this. She felt like a mess. But when James gently gripped her face to turn her gaze back to him, she felt powerless to stop him. Even as she tried to struggle free, he kept his hazel eyes on her as she looked passed him.

"Look at me." he whispered softly.

Still she refused until James cupped her face and lifted her head to bump his forehead against her own; now she had no choice but to make eye contact.

"Lily, it's going to get better. You'll move on-

"It's not that, my feelings for him in that way have faded."

James looked confused, "Tell me, what's making you feel like this." he urged softly.

She hiccoughed and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I trusted him, he was the nicest boy I had ever known to take a romantic interest in. He never showed me that I should be doubting him. The way that Georgia explained everything seemed unbelievable. When I spoke to him, he didn't care about Georgia. He didn't even apologise. He was my friend and I trusted him and now he's broken that trust. I thought he was a completely different person and now it's made me question if I'm a good judge of character."

James made a shushing gesture to try and soothe her as his thumbs stroked the tears away.

"So you feel betrayed? Hurt? Angry?"

She nodded, "How can I trust someone with my heart after learning that my ex-boyfriend is someone I thought he wasn't? I feel hurt that he wasn't honest with me, we were together a long time. I mostly feel angry because of the way he's treating Georgia more than angry that he cheated and lied."

"Evans, I understand how you feel. All I can say is that when it comes to trusting someone with your heart, you'll have to listen to what it says and decide if the person you're willing to give it to is worth it. Take a risk. This is just one school relationship, when we graduate you'll be in the real world and in a real relationship where honesty and trust is the best thing and all guys aren't the same."

Lily smiled weakly at his attempt to cheer her up, it was like she hadn't fallen out with him at all.

Before he could say anything more, Sirius and Peter walked into the common room and James let go of Lily. She quickly wiped her eyes and sniffed, thanking James and heading to place her schoolbag in her dormitory but she stopped on the stairs.

"Comforting Lilypad? You have been busy." Sirius teased.

"She knows everything."

"About what?" Peter questioned.

"Tell you later Wormtail." Sirius muttered.

"How's Remus?" asked James.

Sirius looked around when James told him that it was only the three of them and Lily in the tower, for they knew that Remus had told Lily about his condition over the summer when she had visited him to ask about James.

"The usual. Listen you coming tonight or are you on patrol with Evans?" asked Sirius.

"On patrol and she needs a friend right now. Are you two going to be okay without me? I know Moony can be a handful but when we're in animal form he seems to be okay." James said apologetically.

"Of course we'll be okay. Remus will understand anyway." said Peter.

"Thanks guys." said James.

Lily heard Sirius and Peter walking up the boys staircase when she hurried up to her dormitory and chucked her bag on her bed. She hadn't meant to overhear the conversation but if James was talking about the boys being animagi then she needed to have it confirmed by James. She hurried back down the stairs and sat back down next to James.

"James, can I ask you something?"

He nodded, "Of course."

Lily gulped before asking her question, she didn't want him to think she was snooping.

"Look I'm sorry but I overheard your conversation with the boys about Remus."

James's eyes widened, "What did you hear?"

Lily leaned in closer, "Are you an animagi?" she whispered.

James stood up and helped Lily to her feet, dragging her out of the common room and into an empty classroom. Once inside, he locked the door and cast a silencing charm before taking off his glasses. Lily watched as James changed into a mighty stag, it was an amazing sight to behold; looking at James Potter in animal form, she now knew how good he was at Transfiguration. Once James had changed back, she stepped closer to him.

"Why?" Lily said softly.

James placed his glasse back on his nose before smiling down at her.

"We found out about Remus and decided that we didn't care about his affliction. In fifth year we managed to become illegal animagi, once a month after curfew we sneak down into the grounds under my invisibility cloak and transform to keep Remus company in animal form. He suffers badly with his transformations and we found that we in animal form actually make him a lot calmer and his transformations are more bearable when he has us for company." James explained.

Lily felt stunned, never before had she seen a considerate side to James Potter. For years he had been a show-off who liked the attention from girls when he hexed the Slytherins or pulled pranks that earned him detention and she assumed that he was like this even with the marauders. But now she had come to the conclusion that Remus was right when he had said that there was more to James Potter than messy hair, Quidditch and pulling pranks. She was beginning to see James in a new light. One that made the flutterings in her stomach go wilder than ever before, even more than when he kissed her.

"You know something Potter? There's more to you than showing off, I admire how loyal you are to those boys." Lily mumbled.

James smiled as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"They're my brothers Lil, there's nothing I wouldn't do for them."

Lily returned his smile.

"Now, we have a patrol to do in a few hours. I trust you don't want to eat dinner with Jeremy in the Great Hall so how about I sneak us into the kitchens and treat you to something different to what's on tonights dinner menu?" James suggested.

Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of James squeezing her tightly as he returned her embrace.

"This could be the start of a beautiful friendship Potter." she said quietly.

James released her and uncast the silencing charm and unlocked the door.

"Oh Evans believe me, this could be the start of something even better."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to all who have left a review, I'm glad you seem to be liking how this story is going so far. Not my best work so I apologise but ****I hope you like this chapter and please keep the reviews coming, it makes me inspired and motivated to get the chapter done quicker :)**

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On Halloween weekend the usual excited buzz was going around the school as it came to the trip to the village. Lily, who wasn't in particular mood to go, had been dragged down to the entrance hall by Alice. Marlene had told her that although time was a healer, James had liked her for years and if she gave James a chance then she'd forget all about Jeremy's hurt. Lily stated that although she had strong feelings for James, she was unsure if giving him a chance at this particular time was the best thing.

Alice, who had been choosing out clothes for Alice to wear when Marlene left their dormitory, was wearing a suspicious grin on her face by the time they both left the common room. It was as they stood in the queue to sign out, she met James's gaze who was standing by the door with Sirius and Marlene. Alice signed the two of them out before saying her goodbyes and rushing off with Frank Longbottom. Marlene and Sirius smirked at her and hurried off down the path, leaving Lily alone with James. She looked at James suspiciously and he shrugged, telling her that hehad no idea what was going on. The two of them walked down the path slowly, wondering what to say to theother.

"Well can I actually say this is a date?" James asked with a grin.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Who said this is a date?"

"Considering our friends ditched us and the smirk on Sirius's face, I'd say that they had been planning this."

Lily nodded in agreement as they reached the village. It had only been a few weeks since she found out the truth about Jeremy and she still needed some time to get her head around it all. James had been a great friend, he was always there to distract her from thinking about it and was there for her to talk when she wa nted to. But although her feelings for James were still there and stronger than ever, she still feared about giving her heart to him after what had happened with Jeremy.

They carried on walking through the village as Lily explained to James about her favourite Dickens novel whilst James told her his favourite prank that the marauders had ever pulled. They hadn't realised how far into the village that they had gone into for they had stopped at a fountain that didn't work. As Lily admired the old look to the fountain, James unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her waist, causing Lily to gasp in surprise as her arms went around his neck.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "What are we doing?" Lily whispered.

James took one of her hands and stretched them out before moving his feet to waltz. Lily looked embarassed until James took his head to her ear and softly whispered, "Dance with me."

"There's no music." Lily replied.

James smiled warmly as he led them into a dance, causing Lily to giggle as he spun the two of them around. He placed a tiny kisses on her lips, making her blush the same colour as her hair. The kisses were sweet, nothing like the snogs that they had shared. But the kisses still made her feel just wonderful. There was also the fact that they had never shared this much contact with one another in public before, their kisses had always been secret and with no watchful eyes.

It was as James placed another kiss to her lips when they heard a camera click and a light flash in front of them. Both stopped dancing and moved apart, blinking to recover their eyesight. When Lily saw it was Sirius, Marlene, Remus and Mary who had hyena type grins on their faces, she wasn't amused for them interrupting her moment with James.

"You two are so sweet!" Mary gushed.

Lily blushed a light pink which only made James smile even more, their day together had gone so well up until the point of disturbance. Remus chuckled lightly as James awkwardly ran his hand through his messy black hair.

"Come on, we can bug these two later." said Remus.

The four grinned widely and walked in the direction of The Three Broomsticks, causing Lily and James to look at each other rather awkwardly. After a few minutes of affectionate gazing, James held out his hand to Lily. She smiled and took it, not knowing where they were going to go. Lily felt a little confused, she still felt hurt from what Jeremy had done and yet here she was holding hands with James Potter. She had let James Potter kiss her and dance with her. She didn't want to lead him on, she wasn't sure what she wanted at the moment; romantically speaking.

"Lily?"

She turned to face him as they walked up the high street, not caring who was watching them.

"Yes James?"

"What did you want to talk to me about? You know when you came to me before the match against Ravenclaw?" asked James.

"I'd made a decision." Lily replied.

"About?"

"About you." Lily mumbled.

They found themselves walking back to the castle, both not caring where they were going as long as they got to be together.

"What did you decide?" James asked with a grin, knowing full well what the answer was.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "You know full well seeing as I kissed you in the changing room." she replied.

"And does that still stand?"

They walked into the castle and up the marble staircase to head back to the common room.

"I just need some time." Lily whispered.

James didn't look hurt, he simply nodded his understanding. Of course she needed some time, after everything that had happened with Jeremy he didn't blame her for wanting time.

"I understand, but was this our first date?" asked James, hopeful that the answer would be yes.

Lily smiled.

"I'd call it our first _unofficial_ date so maybe if you ask me out on an official date, I might say yes." she teased.

They walked in silence before James pushed her gently behind a suit of armour. Lily giggled as she felt him wrap his arms around her waist once more, it had become the most natural thing in the world to him.

"James-

"Sssh Lily, let me enjoy this." he whispered.

"You're terrible." Lily stated, amusingly.

"I'll tell you what's terrible, I want another feel of those stocking that you wear." he flirted in a seductive whisper.

Lily flushed scarlet as she remembered their last snogging session. It had been the most heated out of all of their time alone together, she couldn't deny that she'd like more.

"You make me feel so alive." he confessed, running a hand through her soft red hair.

"James, I-

He smiled and moved away a little but his hands were still placed on her waist, not wanting to lose the close contact that they were sharing. This is what confused her the most in this situation, she needed time to get her head around what Jeremy had done but she couldn't be without James and the way he made her feel.

"I'm sorry Lily, it's just that when I'm around you I just want to hold you or kiss you. I want you in every possible way."

Lily returned his smile as her greens eyes gazed into deep pools of hazel, knowing that just by looking into his eyes that he was speaking the truth. She had slowly begun to realise that James wasn't just after one thing all those times he bugged her about going on a date with him since he first started asking her. She didn't know how but just by gazing into his eyes told her that he was capable of showing a passion for her as well as genuine concern for her wellbeing and happiness. She could see that he wanted to be the only person she could run to and confide in as well as being the person who made her laugh and feel breathless when things got a bit heated between them. She had never experienced that with Jeremy.

When she had been with Jeremy he had tried to press her further by having the chat with her, and when she said that she wasn't ready to pursue that part of the relationship, Jeremy had smiled and nodded and told her that he understood. She know knew that this wasn't the case given that Jeremy had cheated on her with Georgia, but in truth she had never really been interested in the sexual part of the relationship with Jeremy. All she knew now was that she had strong feelings for James and he was the only one who could make her want more than kissing. What James didn't know was that he made her feel alive as well, he could make her forget who she was just by standing an inch away from her. She could see how he felt in his eyes, and she could only hope that he could see her feelings when he looked at her.

They heard footsteps and the two of them pulled apart before carrying on towards the common room, both walking in silence. Before either of them said the password the minute they got to the Fat Lady's portrait, Lily turned to James.

"What is it you want from me?" Lily questioned.

"I want to be with you Lily." James answered.

"You want a relationship?"

James nodded, "There's only one girl for me Lily Evans, and that's you. I've always wanted you to be my girlfriend and I'm willing to take this as slowly as you like if you want the same. I'm a patient person so I'll wait another year if you want me to, my feelings for you won't fade because I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life."

Lily sighed happily as she made a decision which she hoped that she wouldn't regret. She couldn't let Jeremy's betrayal affect her for the rest of her life, she had to take risks when it came to new relationships and trusting people with her heart. She knew that taking that risk with James Potter would probably earn her with people warning her about being careful but she didn't care right this second. Her feelings for James were stronger than ever and as her heart beat faster in her chest, she felt quite certain in her decision. . She flung her arms around his neck and placed her lips to his, kissing him slowly. James ran a hand through her hair as his other held her by her waist. When they pulled apart, James looked like a kid on Christmas day who had gotten everything he wanted.

"This has to go slow, I'm scared to death but I can't let what Jeremy did affect me forever." Lily whispered.

James nodded, "It can go as slow or as fast as you want. We don't even have to label it if you don't want to."

"James, just do one thing for me?"

"Anything."

"Don't hurt me, don't betray me like Jeremy did."

"I promise, I've waited so long for you. I'll do anything I can to make you happy and not mess this up."

Lily smiled, "I'm sure there are things we'll both do to mess this up but as long as we're honest with each other, then we'll be alright."

"I'm glad you're taking a chance on me Evans."

"I know I said that I needed some time but I've kept you waiting long enough and I think Marlene might be right, Jeremy's in the past now. By moving forward with you it wll help me move on from the hurt he's caused and focus on being happy with you."

James kissed her cheek and gave the password to a very annoyed looking Fat Lady. The two entered the common room and sat in front of the fire, with James wrapping an arm around her as she snuggled into him.

"This isn't so bad is it?" James asked, sighing contentedly.

Lily looked up at him, "This is better than I could have ever imagined."


	13. Chapter 13

_"Have you heard? Lily Evans and James Potter are supposedly dating!" _

_"What?! I thought she hated him?" _

_"What happened to her dating Jeremy Thomas?" _

Were just some of the whispers going around by those who had witnessed James kiss Lily on the cheek between classes or those who had seen them holding hands walking through the grounds or the way that James leaned in to whisper something in Lily's ear in the library which caused her to blush. Most people rubbed their eyes if they saw the two of them sharing close contact, mostly because they wanted to make sure that they weren't dreaming. Neither of the two of them confirmed their relationship when asked and both tried to keep it low-key.

Lily was starting to feel at her happiest in her new relationship. She was surprised that her grades managed to stay up though due to the fact that James was a distraction. Their patrols tended to take longer than usual because James would push her into a darkened corner to kiss her and if James managed to sit next her during a class he would wear his famous smirk and run a hand over her thigh whilst she was trying to write. He'd even do it during dinner and get her so worked up that she'd drag him into the nearest broom cupboard just to snog him senseless.

But although she and James were trying to keep things low-key, there was one person who knew the rumours were true. It was as she was walking to meet James from Quidditch practice when Jeremy stood in front of her. She raised her eyebrows in annoyance and tried to go around him, but once again Jeremy stood in her way.

"What do you want?" Lily asked.

"It didn't take you long to fall into Potter's bed." said Jeremy.

"What I do is none of your concern."

"Lily, I care about you. I'm trying to change, please just give me a chance!" Jeremy begged.

Lily shook her head, "I'm over you. You hurt me by lying and cheating and then forcing that girl into an abortion. I'd respect you a lot more if you actually did the right thing by Georgia, did you even go to the twelve week scan?"

Jeremy opened his mouth but then closed it, there was nothing that he could say that would change Lily's mind.

"Lily, you know I love you-

She held up her hand and he fell quiet, she moved around him and headed for the doors. Jeremy stood on the spot as he watched her walk out of the castle, feeling determined not to give up on her. Lily didn't even know why that Jeremy was still trying to win her back, after everything that had happened. She had moved on from her ex-boyfriend and although she had only been with James for a few weeks, she knew that she had never felt about Jeremy the way she felt out James Potter.

Although it was only six in the evening, the sun had already set two hours before and she could faintly make out the Gryffindor team walking back from the pitch. She stopped on the path and waited, there was no point in meeting James when he was already returning. The team all smirked when James placed a light kiss on her forehead and stopped so that they could walk slowly behind the rest of the team.

"How was your evening?" asked James.

"I mostly studied and I ran into Jeremy on my way to meet you." Lily replied.

"What did he have to say?"

"Just that it didn't take me long to fall into your bed and that he loves me and wants another chance."

"And what did you tell him?"

"Nothing, I told him that what I did was none of his concern."

James nodded and they walked into the castle, stopping inside the entrance hall. Jeremy stood talking to Georgia, watching them closely. Lily turned to James, whose eyes were lit up and she could tell that he wanted to kiss her.

"Not here." Lily whispered.

James turned to see that Jeremy was watching the two of them and he took her hand and led her up to the common room. Once inside, James started to head up to the boy's dormitory but Lily stopped. He turned to face her with a look of confusion on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Taking me up to your dormitory?" Lily teased, eyebrows raised.

James chuckled, "I'm sure you'd like to see where I sleep, Marlene has grown accustomed to sleeping in Sirius's bed." he replied.

"Amongst other thing." Lily muttered.

They walked up the boy's staircase and Lily sat on James's bed as he started to rifle through his trunk to find a top to wear. She noticed how much messier the boy's dormitory was to the girl's one, but she figured that it was in a boy's nature to be untidy. She looked over at Sirius's bed and noticed a pile of smelly socks gathering under the bed. She wrinkled her nose and turned to James, finding herself unable to say anything as she noticed that he had taken his Quidditch top off.

She wouldn't describe him as a greek god, but she could tell that he exercised daily from the six-pack and noticable muscles on his chest and upper arms. He looked utterly irresistable as he smirked when he caught her staring. Throwing the top at the foot of his bed, he leaned over her; causing Lily to move herself backwards a bit, biting her lip.

"Did I catch you eyeing me up?" James whispered.

Lily nodded and grinned mischeviously.

"No wonder you have a little fan club Potter."

"The difference is Evans that I don't go topless around the school, you're the first girl to see me like this."

"Guess I'm the lucky one then?"

"I think we're both lucky."

Before Lily could question what James had meant, he kissed her heatedly. She fell backwards on to the bed, running her hands over his chest as his tongue battled hers. She moaned softly when James moved to kiss her neck, sucking at her earlobe as his hands pushed her skirt up her thighs and stroked the top of her stockings. Lily ran her hands through his messy hair and gripped lightly before pulling his mouth back to hers and kissing him heatedly. James wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her deeper into his mattress. James began to kiss her neck again and Lily gasped as she felt something press into her that she had never been used to before. Her gasp had caused James to stop kissing her and look down at her in concern, his breathing uneven.

"Lily, I'm sorry." James whispered, untangling her legs and moving off her.

She sat her and straightened her skirt and sat up too, she wasn't angry with him and couldn't understand why he had apologised. This had been the most heated moment of their relationship and she wanted to go further, she had just been caught up in the moment. Lily watched as James got off the bed and picked up the discarded top from the floor, he pulled it over his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"James." Lily said softly.

He knelt before her and cupped her face affectionately before lightly kissing her lips.

"I'm sorry I went too far."

"James I-

He took her hand and helped her up from the bed before leading her out of the dormitory and down to the common room. They walked in silence out of the portrait hole before James stopped to face her.

"Lily, you remember when I asked you if you would sneak out after curfew?" he asked her.

She nodded, "I said that I would if you could guarantee we wouldn't get caught."

"We aren't on duty tonight, you want to go somewhere with me?" he asked.

"Why not?" Lily smiled.

James grinned from ear to ear as the two of them walked down to the Great Hall for dinner with Lily wondering what he was planning for them.

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**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far. I hope you like this chapter and if you feel that the rating needs to go up then please let me know and I will change it. Also I have started a new Lily/James fanfic called The Feeling of Forever so feel free to give that a read, it's a short story in progress. **


	14. Chapter 14

That night Lily made sure that all of the girls were fast asleep before tiptoeing out of the dormitory and down to the common room to meet James. She had no idea where he was going to take her but just the thought of being surprised was thrilling. She looked around the common room and frowned when she saw that James wasn't there yet. As she stood in silence, she felt something move behind her. She turned around, heart beating fast and gasped loudly when she felt something envelope around her.

"It's only me." James whispered in her ear.

Lily nodded silently and the two of them left the common room and James began to lead them down the left corridor on the seventh floor. She looked at him quizically when they came to a stop by the portrait of Barnabus the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet. She waited for a few moments as James concentrated really hard and she stared in amazement when a door appeared in front of them.

The quietly entered the doorway and James threw the cloak off of them before shutting the door. Lily looked around in amazement at the room, she had never set foot in this room before. There was a huge black marble fireplace crackling and spreading the warmth throughout the room. In front of the fireplace was a red fluffy rug with gold squashy cushions. Behind the cushions was a basket full of treats that the two of them would share.

She sat down on the cushions and helped herself to a flask of pumpkin juice before smiling as she felt James gently massage her shoulders. She leant her head back into him as he wrapped his arms around her and closed her eyes. She hummed happily as she listened to the fire crackle and James's light breathing, only knowing that it was just the two of them. No gossipers, no friends to interrupt them; just the two of them alone.

"You want a chocolate cauldron?" James whispered.

Lily shivered as his voice sent a tingle down her spine as she turned her head to one side to face him. His hazel eyes lit up by the firelight as he met her gaze.

"Sure." she replied quietly.

James unfolded his arms from around her and rumaged through the basket to lift out a box of chocolate cauldrons. She helped herself to one and sat to face James, smiling to see that she wasn't the only one helping herself to the goodies that James had packed for the two of them.

"James, about earlier-

He held up his hand and blushed a little in embarrassment, making her grow slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry Lily that I went too far. Can you forgive me?"

Lily rolled her eyes, causing James's face to fall.

"Can we talk about it?"

"Please it's embarrassing as it is-

"James." Lily said sternly.

He fell silent and she smiled warmly as she began to talk.

"You don't need to apologise, I'm glad that you think of me in that way."

"You are?"

She nodded, "In that moment, I wanted you just as much."

Jame's jaw dropped and Lily flushed scarlet as she shoved another chocolate cauldron into her mouth. She wished that having this conversation would be a lot easier but due to the nature of the topic, it was going to be awkward. She swallowed the chocolate cauldron and turned her attention back to her boyfriend.

"So, you wanted to?"

Lily nodded, "In the heat of the moment I wanted to lose myself completely." she replied.

"And now?"

Lily bit her lip, "I do want to make that step with you, but our relationship has just started. Can we just let nature take it's course?" she questioned nervously.

James cupped her face and stroked her cheeks tenderly with his thumbs, loving that they could have these types of conversations with the other now.

"You mean you don't want it to be planned?" asked James.

Lily shook her head, "If we plan it down to the last detail then I'll be a nervous wreck and it probably won't happen. I'd like it if we took it slowly and pushed boundaries and discovered what was too much for us. Don't get me wrong I want my first time to be special and I'll know when I'm ready to go all the way." she replied.

"I understand Lily and I'll happily explore this slowly with you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, but a part of her was quite fearful. Not of actually giving herself to him fully, she knew that she had never felt this way before about anyone. What she was afraid of was that James would tire of waiting like Jeremy had, she was worried that James would decide she wasn't worth the wait.

It was as if James knew her inside her, for he moved her away from him and frowned. He studied her carefully and her expression changed to worry, she was worried that she had done something to make him annoyed.

"What's the matter?" he questioned.

Lily gulped, "I'm scared."

James took her hand reassuringly before giving her a little smile.

"It's perfectly natural to feel scared Lily."

"I'm not scared about the having sex part."

"Then what are you scared of?"

She didn't answer him straight away, her attention went to the crackling fire. She was afraid that if she voiced her fears that James would grow angry. It wasn't that she didn't trust James, if she were with another boy she would have the same fears. James cupped her face with both his hands and gently forced her gaze back to him.

"Talk to me." he urged her quietly.

She exhaled heavily, "I'm just scared that if we wait for too long that you'll decide I'm not worth the wait."

James frowned, "And because that's what Jeremy did, you think I'll grow too frustrated and stray?" he questioned.

Lily nodded, "It's not just you. If I were with anyone else then I'd feel the same." she whispered.

He nodded and lightly pressed his lips to hers, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. She was surprised that he hadn't gotten angry with her. As she fell back onto the cushions and James wrapped his arms around her waist, she came to the conclusion that although James was still who he was(he had just toned it down a notch), she liked what she was discovering about him. She liked the sensitive, loyal side to him that she had never realised that he had.

After several minutes of kissing, James pulled away from her. He looked down at her with warm eyes and a dazzling smile as he caressed her cheek. She ran her fingers through his hair as she returned his smile; feeling like she was being silly.

"Lily Marie Evans, I've waited for you for years and not given up on you. I always knew deep down that you would give me a chance one day and now that I have that chance, do you honestly think I would decide that you weren't worth the wait? Because you bloody well are and if I'm one thing, I'm patient. I can wait another ten years if you want me too and I will admit it would be hard because I want you in every possible way. You're the most amazing girl I've ever met and I'm in this as slow or as fast as you want to go."

"James Charlus Potter, I never knew what I had been missing until now."

"I know Jeremy hurt you Lily, he turned out to be everything you thought he never was. But now he's in the past and I hope I'm your future because I know that you're mine."

With a smile and a yawn, James lay down next to her on the cushions. Wrapping his arms protectively around her, Lily took off his glasses before turning in his arms to face the fire. It was late and the two of them too tired to make the journey back to the common room. Tonight had been rather lovely and Lily felt content with the knowledge that James wasn't going anywhere. Closing her eyes and loving the feeling of James sleeping next to her, she yawned heavily and fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

"Have a great Christmas Lily." Alice said warmly.

"You too Alice." Lily replied as she hugged her best friend before watching Alice head out of the station with her parents.

They had all just walked through the barrier at King's Cross after catching the train home for the Christmas holidays. All her friends had gone now, leaving her to say her goodbyes to James.

"I'm having a party at new years, do you want to come?" asked James.

Lily nodded, "Will your parents be there?"

"My dad takes my mum away for new year, it's their wedding anniversary on new years day."

"That's nice, write me a time and when you want me and I'll be there."

James wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his lips to her ear.

"I want you all the time." he whispered.

Lily grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I gathered that."

"I hope you like your Christmas presents."

"Plural?" Lily asked.

James nodded, "It's our first Christmas together, I thought I'd spoil you."

"There's no need-

"Lily, let me."

She rolled her eyes as her forehead bumped against his. Her lips met his and kissed him enthusiastically, knowing that it would be a while until she next saw him. Lily wanted him to remember this kiss, for it was the last one that they would share until their next meeting. They both had no idea how long they had been kissing until they heard a feminine cough behind them. Lily pulled away and flushed scarlet when she saw that it had been her mother who had coughed and Petunia stood next to her mother, looking absolutely unimpressed.

"Mum, Petunia. This is my boyfriend James."

"Nice to meet you Mrs Evans." said James, letting go of Lily and shaking Rose's hand.

"Lily, isn't this the boy who harassed you for years?" asked Rose.

James turned back to Lily with a raised eyebrow, surprised that Lily had even mentioned his name to her parents before they had begun dating.

"Yes mother now can we go?" Lily pleaded, still flushing in embarassment.

"Lovely to meet you James, you're welcome to come over for dinner during the holidays." said Rose.

Rose and Petunia took Lily's luggage and made a slow walk out of the station. Lily turned to face James who was smirking at her.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Potter." Lily hissed.

"So your mum knew about me before I became your boyfriend?" asked James, still grinning.

"This is doing wonders for your ego isn't it?"

James nodded amusingly, "It's nice to know that I had an effect on you for years."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I need to go."

"I'll write everyday, I'll see you soon."

"Bye James." Lily whispered and went to turn.

Before she could catch up with her mother and sister, James spun her back around and claimed her lips in a fierce kiss. Lily felt herself becoming weak as she wrapped her arms around him once more and he lifted her off her feet. After a few months of dating, he still had this affect on her. When he finally placed her back to the ground and released her from the kiss, she had made it up in her mind that she was going to take his breath away at his new years eve party.

"That's how you say goodbye to me Evans."

"I'll write you when I get home."

"Have a good Christmas Lily."

"You too James."

* * *

The days leading up to Christmas Eve were unbearable for Lily. Petunia had invited Vernon round for dinner and Lily had come to find that she detested the man. He was unsympathetic when he talked about how he hated passing beggars in the street and to Lily, this clearly showed that if he knew about her being a witch; he would have no tolerance for her at all. But in many ways he and Petunia rather suited, for Petunia hated her since she got her acceptance letter all those years ago.

It was also the day before Christmas Eve when Lily found out that Jeremy was still in contact with her mother. She had been doing the washing up with her mother when Rose let slip about Jeremy asking her for advice on how to win Lily back(for Jeremy had met her mother the christmas before and had been instantly liked by Rose) and Lily felt furious.

Lily had to fill her mother in on what had happened within the last few months and although Rose sympathised with Lily, she also told her that everyone deserved a second chance. Unfortunately, Petunia had heard the conversation and took enjoyment out of the fact that Jeremy was expecting a baby with a sixteen year old girl. It was then that Lily wrote to James asking to stay with him for the remainder of the holiday and packed her bags. Although her mother asked her not to go, Lily stated that she was fed up of Petunia's snide comments about her; she couldn't stay under the same roof as Petunia if her sister couldn't realise that she couldn't change who she was.

As she walked through the night, she waved her wand and her belongings instantly went to James's house. She was armed with only her wand now, apparating not far from the Leaky Cauldorn, where she had asked James to meet her. There was an eery chill in the air as she walked through the streets, the lamps flickering. She kept her hand tight on her wand, just in case. You never knew what could happen these days.

She wasn't far from the Leaky Cauldron when it happened. Explosions were happening all around her, streetlamps falling. Lily ran, seeing hooded figures flying around her. She bumped into a figure, looking up and felt relieved to see that it was James. He had been waiting for her, outside the entrance to the pub on the muggle side of London.

James and Lily started firing back hexed at the Death Eaters, both scared but willing to fight for their lives. The thing that Lily found strange was that the Death Eaters weren't killing them, which is something that Lily guessed they usually did. She had no idea why until a hex from a Death Eater caused a deep slash on James's cheek and the Death Eaters instantly stopped fighting. There was no-one else around to witness the scene, no-one else to witness Voldemort himself appeared before them.

"Your efforts are useless." Voldemort said in a high cold voice which caused Lily to shiver.

James took a firm hold of her hand, staring defiantly at the evil wizard.

"Doesn't mean I won't try." James growled.

"I've been told about you James Potter. Bravery, Loyalty. Those are some traits I admire in my friends."

"Your point?" James snapped.

"You're a pure blood. Join me. Help me shape our world into what it is meant to be and put purebloods in their place. Your little girlfriend can join too."

"If I don't?"

"Then I'll kill you."

James looked down at Voldemort's feet and noticed a drain, keeping a firm grip on Lily's hand he turned his gaze back to Voldemort.

"Not today."

Voldemort grinned darkly, "You underestimate me, fool."

Before anyone could blink, James pointed his wand at the drain and yelled "EXPULSO." causing the drain to blow up. Voldemort's screams deafened them and Lily felt herself being sucked into the air as James apparated the two of them away.

They were in a bedroom, painted blue with the Gryffindor hangings around the room. Various photos of James with the other marauders pinned to a board above the desk. As James sat on the bed and summoned some dittany from the en-suite, Lily noticed that one of the pictures the pictures pinned to the board was one of her and James dancing at the fountain, it must have recently been added as it looked quite new.

She hurried over to him and applied the dittany to the slash on his face, causing James to gasp as he felt new skin develop over the wound. She was shaking violently, terrified after the ordeal she had just faced. She had never been more thankful to James then she was right now. He had saved them both with quick thinking and luck.

James sat her on the bed and held her into his chest, soothing her with a humming tune. After several minutes, she looked up to face him.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"I'll always protect you Lily, no matter what." James replied softly.

Her eyes locked into his, a feeling that she had never felt before built up inside her. She was certain of something now, something to which she and James had agreed upon they would wait. She pressed her lips to his and kissed him in a slow and gentle passion which she hoped expressed what she wanted. Tonight she could've been killed and was eternally grateful to James for saving them both, now she needed to become one with him. She realised that she couldn't be without him, that she loved him.

When her hands shakily unbuttoned his shirt, she removed it and ran her hands down his bare chest before tucking her fingers lightly behind the waistband of his jeans. James pulled away from her and looked at her in surprise. She had never done that before and he could only hope that she wasn't teasing.

"Lily, do you want it?"

She nodded, "I'm ready." she whispered.

James kissed her forehead lightly as he fell back on the bed and pulled her on top of him.

"You're sure?"

"I need you, I can't be without you."

"Lily-

"James after tonight, it's made things rather clear to me. I can't live my life without you, now that I have you I want to have everything. I've fallen in love with you." she whispered.

James sighed in relief, "I love you." he whispered back to her.

Smiling, she pressed her lips back to his and as the clothing slowly came away, James and Lily spent their first night together. Both experiencing a new meaning of how to express their love for the other and both loving that they had met the one that they couldn't be without.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter, it's currently 23.54 and couldn't sleep so decided to write this. Will be concluding this story soon, I need to tie up some loose ends with Georgia and Jeremy and decided to make Lily and James defy Voldemort for the first time in this chapter. Keep the reviews coming :) **


	16. Chapter 16

Jeremy woke up on Christmas day and felt that this was the worst Christmas of his life. He had lost the only girl he had ever really loved and he believed that there was no hope in winning Lily back. He was an expectant father, and he couldn't really call himself that because although he and Georgia were on talking terms, she had stated that he would have no part in their baby's upbringing. Georgia was four months pregnant with his child now and when they all returned to school after the Christmas holidays, she would know the sex of the baby.

His life was going the complete opposite to the way he had planned. Jeremy had imagined himself proposing to Lily after their graduation, imagining her accepting after dating for eighteen months. He pictured the two of them living together after he got himself a job in the magical law department at the ministry. He could see the two of them getting married after a long engagement and having a couple of kids. Lily's reluctance to pursue the physical side of the relationship with him had left him frustrated and Georgia had been there.

His first time with Georgia had been an emotional one for her, she had been a virgin who had been dumped by her then boyfriend. After many drinks, the two of them had gone too far. The deed had been done and a few weeks later, she announced she was pregnant. She had been terrified, she was only fifteen. Jeremy seemed to have talked her round to the idea that having a baby was a huge mistake, especially if Lily found out about his cheating. Georgia had agreed to the abortion, he hadn't realised how much she regretted having one.

Then after his encounter with Lily in Diagon Alley last August, he had run into Georgia whilst shopping. She was staying at The Leaky Cauldron and after too many drinks once again, the two fell into bed together. It was a moment of comfort, he felt lonely and Georgia was a distraction from the emptiness he felt since his breakup with Lily.

He had received a letter from Lily's mother, who had expressed her sympathy in hearing of the breakup. The two had written ever since, he had even gone as far as to ask Rose for advice on winning Lily back. Rose had informed him of showing Lily of how good they were together, to which Lily hadn't seen due to her infatuation with James Potter.

Noticing that it was nearly seven in the morning, Jeremy kicked back the covers and got out of the bed. He saw a sealed letter on his desk, it had Rose's handwriting on it. Jeremy tore the letter open carefully, not liking what he read.

_Dear Jeremy, _

_Thank you for posting Lily's Christmas present, I'm sure she would have liked it. However, my daughter has filled me in on what you've done and I can honestly say that I don't want someone like you dating my daughter. When Lily first introduced you to our family, I believed you to be a nice boy who cared deeply for my daughter. It turns out that I was wrong. _

_It's one thing to cheat on my daughter because she wasn't ready to pursue a sexual relationship with you just yet. It's another to get a girl pregnant and force her to have an abortion to prevent Lily from discovering the truth. When Lily told me that she broke up with you because she felt conflicting feelings between you and another boy, I understood her decision. I felt for you because I believed that your feelings for Lily were genuine. But yet Lily then told me that you got the same girl who you cheated with pregnant a second time and then lied about the child's paternity by telling her that her current boyfriend was the child's father. _

_Please find Lily's present enclosed and stay away from my daughter. I may not be of magical blood but that won't stop me from protecting my daughter if I find out that you're causing her more misery. _

_Sincerely,_

_Rose Evans. _

Jeremy tore the letter up as he saw Lily's unwrapped Christmas present sat on his desk, he wasn't giving up on the redhead; no matter what the consequences were.

* * *

Georgia gazed down lovingly at the scan photo, watching her baby's heart beat flicker the baby move it's arms and legs. She was twenty two weeks into her pregnancy and although her parents had first been shocked at the news, they were beginning to get their heads around the idea and were supportive of her decisions. Her father was working overtime at the ministry and she felt guilty about it but it was all to help provide for the baby.

The cot was already set up in the corner of her spacious bedroom, filled with small stuffed teddies. She couldn't wait to meet her unborn child, every time she felt the baby move or kick around inside of her growing belly she felt at her happiest. There was no way to describe the way that she was already forming a close bond with her child.

There was a knock at the door and she smiled as her mother entered the room with a plate of toast. It was all she could stomach for breakfast lately, the smell of sausages and bacon were too much for her.

"Did you sleep well love?" asked Yvonne Huntley.

Georgia smiled at her mother as she took the plate.

"A bit better than the night before, the baby likes to move around a lot at night."

Yvonne smiled, "Are you being treated well at school?"

Georgia shrugged, "I still have my friends and I'm the gossip of the school since I started showing. Everyone knows who the father is." she sighed.

Yvonne placed a protective arm around her daughter's shoulder and hugged her tightly.

"I know it's hard love but only a few more months until she's here."

Georgia and Yvonne looked back down at the scan photo.

"Will you tell Jeremy about the baby's gender?"

Georgia shook her head, "The only girl he could ever love is Lily. That's why my baby's last name will be Huntley, not Thomas." she replied with a heavy sigh.

Yvonne patted her daughter's arm and watched as Georgia finished her toast.

"Do you have a name yet?"

Georgia smiled, "I quite like Daisy."

Yvonne returned the smile as she took the plate from Georgia and stood up,

"Merry Christmas Georgia, come down and open your presents when you're ready."

"I've already got the best present in the world." Georgia whispered as she placed a hand on her bump.

* * *

Lily woke up, blinking a few times to get rid of the tired bluriness. Once her vision came into focus, she smiled as she felt James place a feather light kiss to the back of her neck.

"You know it's true what they say that you don't know what you've missed until you have it." Lily yawned.

James smiled, "It's also true that dreams come true if you believe in them."

Lily giggled and turned in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Lily, last night was better than I ever imagined." James whispered.

"It was amazing." Lily agreed.

"I like waking up with you, I think we should do it more often."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "There are other things I think we should do more often."

James grinned devilishly before kissing her fiercely, he rolled them over so that he was on top of her; running his hands through her hair as he continued to kiss her passionately. As Lily's hands wandered down his chest, James's bedroom door burst open. Lily dived under the covers in embarrassment as she heard James shout "What the hell Sirius?!".

Sirius was wearing a huge and amused grin on his face as he stared at the red hair that was poking out from the duvet.

"I know you said that you were meeting Evans last night but I had no idea she'd be sharing your bed." Sirius joked.

James picked up his pillow and threw it as hard as he could at his best friend. Sirius dodged it and the pillow landed in the hallway.

"I take it Lilyflower is no longer Lilyflower?"

James went red in rage, "Get out of room!" he bellowed and Sirius grinned and departed. He picked up his wand and waved it at the door, it shut with a light slam. Lily threw the covers back and looked at James, her face matching her hair colour.

"I'm sorry about him."

"Do you think he heard us last night?" Lily asked, mortified.

James shrugged, "I don't know but if he did I don't care. The amount of times I've had to listen to him-

"I don't need to know that." Lily muttered.

James gave an amused snort as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Well you've given me a rather good Christmas present."

"What's that?"

"The thing I've wanted to hear from your lips for as long as I can remember. You return the love I have for you Lily, that's all I need."


	17. Chapter 17

It was the first day back at school after the Christmas holidays and Jeremy was full of hate for James Potter. He knew that just by watching Lily and James together that they had gotten closer. The way that Lily looked at him and snogged him in front of people and the way James looked at her was if he would do anything to protect her. Jeremy could honestly say that he felt jealous, he loved Lily more than anything.

Just before the bell rang for the start of lessons, Jeremy entered the Great Hall feeling heartbroken. He had just witnessed James pull Lily into the corner by the hourglasses and had began to kiss her heatedly. Lily seemed really into it, more into James kissing her then when he had kissed her. It was as he was walking towards the Hufflepuff table that he bumped into Georgia.

He looked down and saw the small bump that hadn't been there a few weeks ago, or maybe he had never noticed it. Georgia placed a protective hand on her growing belly as if she was fearful he would do something to harm them both.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Georgia glared at him, "Since when do you care how we are?"

"I've lost everything." Jeremy sighed.

"That you have." Georgia agreed icily.

"Look Georgia, I am really sorry about how things are-

She raised a hand up and he stopped speaking, clearly she didn't want to hear his apology. He had done too much damage and it was now too late to fix things with her and be there for her and the baby.

"I don't want to hear it. The only person you love is Lily, you can't love anyone else. I don't care whether you could love me, I don't need you too, but as far as my little girl is conc-

Jeremy's heart froze and his eyes widened in surprise, Georgia instantly clasped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to tell him that she was having a daughter.

"We're having a girl?"

Georgia shook her head, "I'M having a girl." she corrected.

"But-

"You can't love her Jeremy, you've made it clear that the only person you want to spend your time on is Lily Evans."

"I can change, I can prove to you that I can be a good father." Jeremy pleaded.

Georgia hesitated for a few moments, she felt that she was using the baby as a weapon. That she was denying Jeremy the chance to change and be a good dad. But everyone deserved a second chance right?

"I've got a consultant appointment at St Mungo's on the thirtieth, Dumbledore has arranged for me to go on the train. Meet me in the entrance hall at seven in the morning, the appointment is at two in the afternoon."

Jeremy's eyes lit up, "You mean it?"

"This is your last chance, if you're a minute late then I'll go without you and you won't have a chance to be a dad to my daughter."

Jeremy nodded his understanding and Georgia left the hall. He quickly helped himself to some toast and hurried out of the hall only to be stopped by the Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain Harvey Bellamy.

"Thomas, you got a minute?" asked Harvey.

"Quickly, Slughorn will go mental if I'm late again."

"Francesca Smith has had to pull out, she broke her arm over the holidays. So you still interested in playing chaser? It's only going to be for the last match against Gryffindor."

Jeremy smiled widely, "Sure mate, let me know when practice is."

Harvey returned his smile before heading off for his first class of the day. Jeremy grinned in satisfaction as he now had an opportunity to get revenge on James Potter, the person he believed responsible for ruining his life. The person who had taken away the one girl he had ever loved.

* * *

"Sirius, stop distracting me." Marlene hissed.

It was their free period and the group had decided to do a study session in the library. Remus was sat with Mary, Alice and Frank two tables away whilst Lily and James were sat in front of the window; all of them receiving Madam Pince's watchful glare every few minutes. Sirius looked around and saw that Peter was nose deep into his Transfiguration essay when the hand he had placed on Marlene's knee went a little higher up her thigh.

Marlene stopped writing and closed her eyes. As much as she loved melting at his touch, the library was not the place for inappropriate behaviour. Sirius grinned as she bit her lip to stifle a soft moan and leaned into her ear.

"You want to ditch our friends and homework and go somewhere a little more private?" he whispered.

Marlene shut her books and shoved her unfinished essay into her bag along with the books. She should know better, exams were only a few months away and she needed to cram in as much revision as she could before then but Sirius had awoken a passion and need in her that she never knew she had until she had started dated Sirius Black. She caught Lily's gaze and flushed when Lily rolled her eyes in disapproval. The two qucikly threw their schoolbags onto their shoulders and made a quick exit from the library.

James looked up at Lily, who was watching her best friend walking away. He turned to look at Sirius and Marlene and gave a little chuckle. Lily turned back to him and smiled.

"What's so funny?" she asked quietly.

"Sirius, can't last more than half an hour into a study session with Marlene."

"That's one thing you both have in common, not much self control."

"I'm sat here right now aren't I?"

"Yes but since we spent out first night together you've been-

Lily cut off as Madam Pince walked past them, James smiled and leaned in closer to her.

"I believe you were cut off."

She finished off the rest of her essay, and placed it in her bag before watching James copy her actions. The two left the library and Lily squealed when James pulled her behind a tapestry. It had begun to feel quite normal to her now whenever James did this.

"So what was your point?"

"That you seem to have a lack in self control."

"I had excellent self control until I kissed you for the first time, it's not my fault that I can't stop kissing you or touching you. You're beautiful and drive me crazy." James whispered.

Before Lily could answer, James's lips crashed down on hers. She felt her back press up against the wall as James's tongue darted into her mouth. She loved moments like these, although she had gotten used to James dragging her into a broom cupboard or behind a tapestry it still made her feel breathless when his lips touched hers. When Lily pulled away to catch her breath, James released her and stepped away to catch his own.

"We don't have patrol tonight." James stated in a whisper.

Lily grinned, "What did you have in mind?"

"Escaping to the room of requirement for some time alone with my girlfriend."

The two walked back into the corridor and headed back to Gryffindor tower.

"I quite like the sound of some alone time with you, that way we won't have Sirius trying to tease us."

James nodded in agreement and kissed her forehead before giving The Fat Lady the password. As the two climbed through the portrait hole, James placed his lips to Lily's ear.

"Meet me in the common room before dinner."

Lily nodded in agreement before heading up the girl's staircase, looking forward to having the night with her boyfriend with no interruptions.


End file.
